Alex Rins was fastest in MotoGP Free Practice 1 at the US Grand Prix. The Suzuki rider lapped the Circuit of The Americas in Texas in 2:04.007 minutes. Rins was just eight-thousandths of a second quicker than Maverick Vinales (Aprilia). Marc Márquez reported back after his injury break in fifth place.
Most of the track has been resurfaced since the race last October. Nevertheless, bumps could still be seen in some corners. All riders started with the soft front tire. At the rear, only Brad Binder (KTM) chose the hard tire, the rest the medium variant.
After five minutes there was already the first fall. Pol Espargaro (Honda) slipped at Turn 18. Since the last race in Austin was only a few months ago, most teams used the first practice session to compare the set-up.
For example, Takaaki Nakagami had built a Honda with the set-up from the previous year and one with the current one. The new RC213V does have more rear grip, but riders lack front-wheel feel. Marc Márquez also rode completely different set-ups on both bikes.
But the seven-time Austin winner came back competitively right from the start. After the first run, Marc Márquez was already leading the timesheets again. There were technical problems at Suzuki. Rins rolled out early on his second run.
In the final ten minutes, some drivers aimed for a fast lap. The soft rear tire stayed in the pits everywhere though. Rins returned to the track with his second GSX-RR. The 2019 Austin winner showed the best rhythm in the final ten minutes.
However, Rins’ best time was two seconds slower than the course record. Behind Rins and Vinales, Jack Miller was third (Ducati). World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) was fourth in the top field.
Finally, Marc Márquez finished fifth on his return. His deficit was almost half a second. Teammate Pol Espargaro followed directly behind. After the checkered flag fell, Pol Espargaro coasted with a problem and stopped.
Positions seven through ten went to Enea Bastianini (Gresini-Ducati), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), Nakagami and Johann Zarco (Pramac-Ducati). Zarco also rolled out after the end of training. Miller came to the rescue and pushed his fellow Audi driver back into the pits.
KTM was not in the top field. In the end, Brad Binder improved to twelfth place. He was just under a second behind the leaders. Miguel Oliveira was just 23, two and a half seconds back.
The second MotoGP practice session starts at 21:10 CEST.