0.098 splits Dovi, Vinales, Crutchlow, Marquez on Day 1

Andrea Dovizioso flies on his Ducati

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) finished Day 1 at the PTT Thailand Grand Prix top of the combined timesheets after setting a 1:31.090 to go 0.031 faster than FP1’s quickest rider Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), the Spaniard second overall, with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) completing the top three split by a slender 0.043

The Italian rider produced a late flying lap to grab the headlines with a 1m 31.090s to beat Vinales by just 0.031s using new soft front and rear tyres with the Movistar Yamaha setting his best lap time on hard front and rear tires.

With Sunday’s race taking place at the same time of day as Friday’s FP2, the majority of the riders targeted race pace in extremely hot conditions at the Thai track, with Dovizioso also impressing over a long run for Ducati.

Disaster struck for Lorenzo heading into Turn 3 with just over ten minutes of the session remaining. As the Spaniard entered the corner, his GP18’s engine seemed to have an issue, causing Lorenzo to be launched over the top of the bike, landing heavily on his already injured right foot as the Ducati machine suffered severe damage. The five-time World Champion was carried off on a stretcher and headed to the medical centre for a checkup, before heading to the hospital for further examinations. Thankfully, the Ducati man was declared fit.