Andrea Dovizioso dipped underneath the race lap record at Mugello to top of the opening free practice session ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
Ducati will have high hopes for its home round following a positive two-day test in Barcelona last week. Podium contenders at Mugello in recent years, Dovizioso got proceedings off to a positive start with a 1m47.394s lap to go two tenths clear at the top of the timesheets.
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro makes his usual Italian Grand Prix appearance this weekend, and looks as if he will be a bother to those around him after ending FP1 second fastest on his Desmosedici GP17.
Championship leader Maverick Vinales did lead the way in the early stages of the 45-minutes session, but was shuffled back to third by the chequered flag, though only by 0.275s.
Johann Zarco was just 0.005 seconds adrift of the factory Yamaha-mounted Spaniard on his Tech 3 YZR-M1, the Frenchman once again looking a contender for the podium in the early part of the weekend.
Reale Avintia’s Hector Barbera completed the top five, the Spaniard edging countryman Jorge Lorenzo back to sixth, who suffered a minor technical issue in the early stages.
Danilo Petrucci was just a couple of tenths behind on the fourth of the 2017 Desmosedicis present this weekend in seventh, while Jonas Folger, Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow slotted in behind to complete the top 10.
Suzuki are expecting Mugello to be one of their tougher weekends of the season, though Andrea Iannone put on a decent showing in FP1 down in 11th. Behind him was Alvaro Bautista, Dani Pedrosa and Aleix Espargaro, who spent the morning further evaluating several new parts on his Aprilia.
The big story ahead of the sixth round of the season was the motocross training crash for Valentino Rossi, which left him with ‘sever pain’ in his chest and abdomen. Using FP1 to assess his physical condition, the Yamaha rider managed 15 laps and was 1.1s off the pace in 15th.
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