Marquez fastest from Rossi in FP1

A last minute lap from Marc Marquez saw the reigning world champion end the opening practice with the fastest time ahead of Valentino Rossi. The duo have had to answer plenty of questions about their Assen clash and their form in FP1 shows that they could once again be in close quarters on Sunday. Marquez was the only man to dip under the 1m22s barrier.

Scott Redding was a morale boosting third fastest with the Marc VDS rider taking advantage of a gaggle of riders, that included Dani Pedrosa, to lift himself up the order. After a difficult first season aboard the Factory Honda Redding is under pressure and in need of a strong result this weekend.

The soft tyre will be a key advantage to the teams able to use it this weekend, and will surely put some of the Factory riders under tremendous pressure to make it into QP2, but with the pace of the Ducati’s looking strong with Yonny Hernandez and Andrea Dovizioso were inside the top six.