Marquez tops open practice in Brno
Runaway Championship leader Marc Marquez edged out Jorge Lorenzo during the first practice session ahead of this weekend's 11th round of the MotoGP season in the Czech Republic.
Marquez, who has won every race this year, led the way early in the session before Lorenzo moved to the top of the times, although a potentially faster lap was ruined when he encountered Yonny Hernández in the final sector and brushed the side of his rival's bike.
Marquez then edged ahead with a 1:56.807 and his final lap time of 1:56.804 proved to be 0.037s quicker than Lorenzo's best.
Dani Pedrosa ensured that it was a close affair between the top three as he set a time just 0.052s slower than team-mate Marquez during the final stages of the 45 minute session, while Aleix Espargaro was less than two tenths of a second behind in fourth.
Valentino Rossi was fifth for Yamaha, ahead of Stefan Bradl and Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso.
Results
| Pos | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'56.803 | 0.000s/0.000s |
| 2 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1'56.840 | 0.037/0.037s |
| 3 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'56.855 | 0.052/0.015s |
| 4 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | NGM Forward Racing | 1'57.002 | 0.199/0.147s |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1'57.065 | 0.262/0.063s |
| 6 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | LCR Honda MotoGP | 1'57.084 | 0.281/0.019s |
| 7 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | 1'57.169 | 0.366/0.085s |
| 8 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Energy T.I. Pramac Racing | 1'57.190 | 0.387/0.021s |
| 9 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'57.634 | 0.831/0.444s |
| 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'57.816 | 1.013/0.182s |
| 11 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Ducati Team | 1'58.040 | 1.237/0.224s |
| 12 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Pramac Racing | 1'58.061 | 1.258/0.021s |
| 13 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | 1'58.301 | 1.498/0.240s |
| 14 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Ducati Team | 1'58.340 | 1.537/0.039s |
| 15 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | 1'58.698 | 1.895/0.358s |
| 16 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Racing | 1'58.714 | 1.911/0.016s |
| 17 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | Drive M7 Aspar | 1'58.895 | 2.092/0.181s |
| 18 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | 1'59.216 | 2.413/0.321s |
| 19 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | NGM Forward Racing | 1'59.959 | 3.156/0.743s |
| 20 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Avintia Racing | 2'00.240 | 3.437/0.281s |
| 21 | 70 | Michael LAVERTY | GBR | Paul Bird Motorsport | 2'00.345 | 3.542/0.105s |
| 22 | 2 | Leon CAMIER | GBR | Drive M7 Aspar | 2'00.445 | 3.642/0.100s |
| 23 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Octo IodaRacing Team | 2'00.497 | 3.694/0.052s |
| 24 | 23 | Broc PARKES | AUS | Paul Bird Motorsport | 2'00.752 | 3.949/0.255s |