---
title: "Marquez heads Pirro in Misano FP1"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/09/08/marquez-heads-pirro-misano-fp1/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2017-09-08T09:04:21Z"
modified: "2017-09-08T09:04:55Z"
---

# Marquez heads Pirro in Misano FP1

Marc Marquez opened up MotoGP proceedings at the San Marino Grand Prix setting the pace from Ducati test rider Michele Pirro.

Honda man Marquez slipped nine points adrift of championship leader Andrea Dovizioso at the British Grand Prix when the engine in his RC213V expired, resulting in his third non-finish of the year.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/839597026.jpg)

Heavy overnight rain left the Misano circuit damp for the start of Moto3 practice, though the track had mostly dried by the time the first MotoGP session got underway.

Typically the strongest rider when grip is at a premium, Marquez quickly shot to the top of the timesheets in the opening stages, the Spaniard setting the pace with a 1m33.951s 15 minutes in.

His best effort came under some threat as the clock counted down, though he lifted himself clear of the field again in the final few minutes with a 1m33.556s.

Ducati tester Pirro has extensive Misano track knowledge, and used that to put himself forward as an early dark horse for a decent result on Sunday.

Ending the session second quickest with a 1m33.988s, his morning was not completely trouble free, a minor technical issue forcing him to park up at the side of the track at mid distance.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/839579872.jpg)

Championship leader Dovizioso completed the top three with a late effort of 1m34.175s, edging him a couple of hundredths ahead of LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, [who recently underwent surgery on a severed tendon.](https://readmotorsport.com/2017/09/04/crutchlow-surgery-finger-injury-hopes-make-misano-race/)

Danilo Petrucci completed the top five after spending much of the morning evaluating the aero fairing Ducati introduced following the summer break. Jorge Lorenzo was sixth fastest on the fourth GP17 on the grid this weekend.

Last year’s Misano race winner Dani Pedrosa made a steady start to his weekend in seventh, while sole factory Yamaha representative Maverick Vinales – who has both of his bikes fitted with the prototype 2018 chassis tested at Misano and raced at Silverstone – ended the morning in eighth.

Johann Zarco spent the opening 45 minutes of track action at Misano pushing the limits, the Tech3 rider almost having a big accident when he ran onto the wet grass exiting the final corner.

The Frenchman did eventually push his luck, suffering a front-end fold at Turn 6 in the closing stages. Unhurt in the tumble, Zarco slipped to ninth on the timesheets ahead of team-mate Jonas Folger.

> Twitter: Using all of the track and a little bit more! ![?](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.3/svg/1f631.svg)\
> @JohannZarco1 ![?](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.3/svg/1f648.svg) #SanMarinoGP https://t.co/Dvl2tRrD36 (@MotoGP)

Hector Barbera headed fellow GP16-mounted runner Alvaro Bautista in 11th, with Jack Miller close behind in 13th. Aleix Espargaro, who crashed at the end of the session, was 14th fastest [ahead of the Avintia-bound Tito Rabat.](https://readmotorsport.com/2017/09/07/rabat-set-for-avintia-switch-in-2018/)

Friday morning proved a difficult one for Aprilia as a whole, with Espargaro‘s team-mate Sam Lowes falling at Turn 16. Both Suzuki riders also had crashes, Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins going down within a minute of each other at the end of the session.

Bradley Smith (21st) and Karel Abraham (22nd) also added their names to the crash list.