Johann Zarco was the fastest in the first free practice session of the Valencia MotoGP Grand Prix. Almost always a Ducati was at the top of the timing sheet, and the Frenchman ended up setting the pace.
The initial leader of the session was Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati), ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda). The second flying laps completely changed the standings, with Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) moving to the top and Raúl Fernández (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) to second.
Despite maintaining the lead, Martín saw Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) closing in shortly after… before being overtaken by the same rival. He lost the lead to Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati), but Martín would return to the top of the timing sheet with a six-thousandth of a second advantage.
With ten minutes elapsed, Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati) led, being 26 thousandths faster than Martín. At the same time, the first falls of the session were recorded: Mir and Álex Márquez, both without major consequences. The table stabilized until about 21 minutes from the checkered flag Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati) placed themselves in first and second, respectively. Shortly after, both were overtaken by Maverick Viñales (Aprilia). He was then beaten by di Giannantonio. But the best lap came only at the end, when Zarco lapped in 1m30.191s to beat di Giannantonio by 0.187s. Martín finished third at 0.259s, with Bezzecchi and Viñales completing the top five. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), the championship leader, started with a modest 13th place.
