Dovizioso makes a late lunge to dominate Day 1 at Brno

Andrea Dovizioso

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) shot to the top of the combined timesheets on Friday at the Monster Energy Grand Prix Ceske republiky, going fastest at the end of FP2 by almost four tenths after a late lunge for P1. Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was his closest challenger, with Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) in hot pursuit.

After rain in FP1 that saw Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) lead the way from Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), Friday's combined timesheets were decided by FP2 as blue skies returned and the track dried out. 'DesmoDovi' going quickest wasn't the biggest headline from the red garage on Friday, however: a new, radical aero fairing broke cover late in the day, with Lorenzo charged with the first run. The 'Spartan' improved his previous best.

Pedrosa in the rain

FP1's fastest Zarco was fourth overall, ahead of Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing), and Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) after the rush at the end. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) had been quickest in the session for some time, eventually ending up in P7.

Brno before practice started

2016 Brno winner Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was eighth quickest, ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). Reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top ten, but the number 93 crucially didn't push at the end on a softer tyre.

Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completed an understated Day 1 in P11, ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) and a stunning showing from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Pol Espargaro. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) locked out the fastest fifteen on Friday.

MotoGP head back out to decide final graduation to Q2 tomorrow morning, before qualifying begins from 14:10 (GMT +2).

Friday Results

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time	Behind	Gap
1	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	1'56.332	0.000	0.000
2	94	Jonas FOLGER	GER	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	1'56.730	0.398	0.398
3	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	OCTO Pramac Racing	Ducati	1'56.751	0.419	0.021
4	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	1'56.862	0.530	0.111
5	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	1'56.864	0.532	0.002
6	45	Scott REDDING	GBR	OCTO Pramac Racing	Ducati	1'56.905	0.573	0.041
7	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1'56.933	0.601	0.028
8	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	LCR Honda	Honda	1'56.961	0.629	0.028
9	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	1'57.019	0.687	0.058
10	93	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1'57.209	0.877	0.190
11	25	Maverick VINALES	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1'57.289	0.957	0.080
12	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Pull&Bear Aspar Team	Ducati	1'57.314	0.982	0.025
13	44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1'57.378	1.046	0.064
14	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1'57.396	1.064	0.018
15	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Ducati Team	Ducati	1'57.637	1.305	0.241
16	17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Pull&Bear Aspar Team	Ducati	1'57.869	1.537	0.232
17	76	Loris BAZ	FRA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	1'57.992	1.660	0.123
18	42	Alex RINS	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	1'58.042	1.710	0.050
19	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	1'58.179	1.847	0.137
20	29	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	1'58.194	1.862	0.015
21	53	Tito RABAT	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	1'58.437	2.105	0.243
22	22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	1'58.638	2.306	0.201
23	38	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1'59.382	3.050	0.744