2018 Czech GP winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) launched his 2019 Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky in perfect fashion after going P1 in FP1, his 1:56.919 was enough to edge out title rival Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) by 0.029 as Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Miguel Oliveira finished within a tenth of the Italian.
It was Marquez who led for most of the first session as the premier class riders got back into the swing of things after a three-week summer break. One rider who didn’t get much of a summer break though was Team Suzuki Ecstar test rider Sylvain Guintoli but that didn’t seem to affect the veteran Frenchman. Guintoli went second in the latter stages before being shuffled back to fifth by the end of the session, with Dovizioso, Viñales and Oliveira all improving late in FP1 – the latter sitting quickest in the final two sectors.
Who leads the challenge behind @marcmarquez93? ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 2, 2019
None other than @suzukimotogp wildcard @SylvainGuintoli! ????#CzechGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/HZg03XUJmB
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was the second fastest Ducati on Friday morning, he finished 0.466 off Dovi with another big surprise name appearing in the top 10 just behind the Australian – Hafizh Syahrin making it two Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s in the top seven.
Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) crashed at Turn 13 – rider ok.
The penultimate corner catches out @PeccoBagnaia! ????
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 2, 2019
The @pramacracing rider is unhurt but clearly frustrated after this fall! ????#CzechGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/vVFrX041J0
An action-packed morning sets us up for an intriguing afternoon in Brno. Tune in for MotoGP™ FP2 at 14:10 local time (GMT+2).
Top 10:
1. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) 1’56.919
2. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) +0.029
3. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) +0.063
4. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) +0.099
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.452
6. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) +0.466
7. Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) +0.807
8. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) +0.844
9. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.890
10. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) +0.908
Click here for the full results!