2018 World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) got his final race weekend of the season off to the best possible start as he topped FP1 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana by 0.106. Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) – despite a late crash at Turn 10 – was the Spaniard’s closest rival in P2, with his teammate Danilo Petrucci getting his Valencia weekend off to a positive beginning with P3 on Friday morning.
RED FLAG ????
— MotoGP™???????????? (@MotoGP) November 16, 2018
The session has been halted due to track conditions #ValenciaGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/PYk1IN8Apu
However, with the rain coming down with force after the Moto3™ session, it wasn’t long before the red flags came out with just under 38 minutes of the session remaining. Track conditions were - correctly - deemed to be too dangerous by Race Direction, with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) having huge moments at Turn 13.
After a half hour or so delay, the riders headed back out for some vital wet weather running, with the rain set to stay for the whole weekend. By the chequered flag, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso was P4 on the timesheets, 0.412 back from Marquez, with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) getting his final Grand Prix race weekend off to a solid start - P5 for the three-time World Champion.
#MotoGP FP1 ????@marcmarquez93 masters the wet to set the fastest time ✊#ValenciaGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/JxZjrRIkSs
— MotoGP™???????????? (@MotoGP) November 16, 2018
Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) crashed at Turn 2 towards the end of the session – rider ok, with Xavier Simeon (Reale Avintia Racing) also crashing as he headed to the medical centre for a checkup.
FP2 begins at 14:05 local time (GMT +1).
Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana: MotoGP™ FP1
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