Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was fastest in opening practice at Le Mans ahead of Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo.
A late lap from Pedrosa put him ahead of Lorenzo with just 0.044s separating the two Spaniards.
MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez was third fastest, 0.281s behind teammate Pedrosa.
Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso looked set to match Pedrosa’s benchmark but lost time in the final two sectors. The Italian ended FP1 in fourth ahead of Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Ducati teammate Andrea Iannone.
Pol Espargaro was an impressive seventh for Tech 3 ahead of Suzuki’s Maverick Vinales, Loriz Baz and Cal Crutchlow rounding out the top 10 positions.
Both Baz and fellow satellite Ducati man Yonny Hernandez crashed at Turn 8 as they struggled to get to grips with the Le Mans circuit.
Only one second separated the top 14 riders highlighting the closeness of the field.
MotoGP FP2 gets underway at 1305 GMT.
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