Marquez keeps clear of Vinales, Dovizioso hits trouble

Full FP1 results for the Americas MotoGP

Marc Marquez has taken control at the Americas MotoGP by topping the opening session with Maverick Vinales in close company throughout, while Andrea Dovizioso was stalled by a mechanical problem.

The Repsol Honda rider instantly shot to the top of the times, lapping over one second quicker than any of his rivals initially, before Vinales upped his pace as the session progressed.

Marquez, who is undefeated on American soil in his premier class career, produced a late 2m 05.311s to take top spot keeping clear of Monster Yamaha’s Vinales by 0.078s at the end of the session.

Off the back of an impressive fourth place in Argentina, Jack Miller grabbed third place for Pramac Ducati, albeit over half a second off Marquez and Vinales, but he kept in front of factory Ducati rider Dovizioso.

The Italian rider suffered a mechanical hiccup midway through FP1, forcing him to park his GP19 trackside, before jumping on to his second bike to take fourth place.

Valentino Rossi completed the top five on the Monster Yamaha as Pol Espargaro impressed on the Red Bull KTM ahead of standout rookie Fabio Quartararo on the Petronas Yamaha.

Cal Cructhlow grabbed eighth place on the LCR Honda, 1.1 seconds behind leader Marquez, with Aleix Espargarao and Andrea Iannone putting both Aprilias in the top 10.

Franco Morbidelli just missed out in 11th place for Petronas Yamaha as he hopes to bounce back from his last lap crash in Argentina which took out Vinales.

With Karel Abraham 12th on the Avintia Ducati, Danilo Petrucci struggled to get up to speed on the factory Ducati down in 13th place but ahead of Suzuki duo Joan Mir and Alex Rins.

Jorge Lorenzo has also endured a slow start at Circuit of the Americas in 18th place on the Repsol Honda and almost two seconds slower than his timesheet-topping team-mate.