Quartararo on top Friday at Motegi
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| Fabio Quartararo |
Cool conditions on Friday at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit didn’t deter the local fans who filtered into the track from early in the morning.
A track temperature of 21°C kept riders some distance from the outright lap record in Japan but potential rain on Saturday meant they still had to push hard for a Q2 spot in the closing moments of Free Practice 2.
After finishing behind his fellow Yamaha rider in FP1, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ousted Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in FP2 to lead the way on Friday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan with a 1:44.764. 2019 World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top three on the opening day of action.
Friday Practice Results
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 1'44.764 |
| 2 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.321 |
| 3 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.336 |
| 4 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 0.650 |
| 5 | Rossi Valentino | 46 | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.702 |
| 6 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 0.798 |
| 7 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.813 |
| 8 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 0.855 |
| 9 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.877 |
| 10 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 0.957 |
| 11 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.966 |
| 12 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.040 |
| 13 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.256 |
| 14 | Bagnaia Francesco | 63 | ITA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1.566 |
| 15 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.793 |
| 16 | Abraham Karel | 17 | CZE | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1.812 |
| 17 | Lorenzo Jorge | 99 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1.897 |
| 18 | Iannone Andrea | 29 | ITA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1.981 |
| 19 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 2.036 |
| 20 | Guintoli Sylvain | 50 | FRA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 2.039 |
| 21 | Kallio Mika | 82 | FIN | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 2.134 |
| 22 | Rabat Tito | 53 | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 2.394 |
| 23 | Syahrin Hafizh | 55 | MAL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 3.210 |