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ZARCO FASTEST IN BARCELONA

Johann Zarco fastest in Barcelona - Image: Motorsport Images

By Dan McCarthy

Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco was quickest on the opening day of MotoGP action at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.

It was an incredibly tight field for much of the day and in the end, 13 other riders were within one second of Zarco.

The Frenchman ended up on top of the timesheets just days after signing a one-year contract extension to remain with the Pramac Ducati outfit for 2022.

Despite being consistently the slowest in the speed trap, Petronas Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli finished the day in second, just 0.021s down on Zarco.

Factory Yamaha rider, championship leader, and last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix winner Fabio Quartararo concluded practice 2 in third.

Aussie Jack Miller ended up in seventh position, he left his lap time late to vault himself inside the top 10 and just under 0.7s from pole.

Further towards the front, it was another positive day for factory KTM rider Brad Binder. Like Zarco he has re-signed with his current team in recent days and rewarded them with a strong showing with fourth position.

Factory Ducati Corse rider Francesco Bagnaia was fifth, 0.061s faster than Maverick Vinales on the second factory Yamaha.

After splitting with long time engineer Esteban García, the new relationship between Vinales and Silvano Galbusera got off to a solid start with the Spanish rider in sixth position ahead of his good mate Miller.

Italian Enea Bastianini impressively ended the day in eighth fastest, the reigning Moto2 champion was only 0.742s off the pace of Zarco.

Factory Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro was ninth ahead of his brother Pol on the factory Honda in 10th.

Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami ended up 11th fastest and is hoping for optimal weather to leap into the top 10 and secure an automatic Q2 spot later today.

Danilo Petrucci was next best ahead of Valentino Rossi’s half-brother Luca Marini.

A trio of riders were in the top five with just a handful of minutes to but plummeted down the order as happy hour occurred.

These three riders were surprisingly buried down the pack, these included KTM rider Miguel Oliveira in 14th, Marc Marquez in 15th and Joan Mir 16th. The trio need to improve in practice 3 or face Q1 later today.

Valentino Rossi’s wretched run continued, he ended the day in 19th, nearly 1.8s slower than his teammate Morbidelli on an older machine.

After missing the last four races due to sustaining several foot and hand injuries Jorge Martin returned, sadly the Spaniard concluded the day at the bottom of the table.

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