Yesterday’s afternoon and Italian evening the first two MotoGP free practice sessions were held in Argentina, on the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, where last year Aprilia took its first – and so far only – victory, with Aleix Espargarò. Once again this year they started in the best possible way, with Aleix dominating the combined time classification with the best time of 1’38.518 followed by teammate Maverick Vinales by 162 thousandths. The two Spaniards were great protagonists and also got the better of the Ducatis.
In fact, the Desmosedici GPs chase and the first two in the standings, in third and fourth position, are those of the Mooney VR46 team in the hands of Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini. “Bez” in his second year in MotoGP, has already conquered the podium last Sunday in Portimao and he particularly likes this track, so much so that he obtained his first world championship victory here, in 2018. Then follows a trio with the two “reds” of the team Pramac, of Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin respectively in fifth and seventh position, among which remained the reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia, who pays four tenths of a delay from the top. There is also another Italian who made the top 10, with the ninth fastest time, and therefore today he will compete directly in Q2 and it is a surprise, Franco Morbidelli with Yamaha. Half a second from the first, he set a good lap, unlike his teammate Fabio Quartararo who finished only fourteenth and therefore will have to go through Q1. The two Hondas of the LCR team also finished in the first ten positions, with Takaaki Nakagami, eighth, and Alex Rins, tenth, six tenths behind the first.
