Maverick Vinales has ended the opening day of free practice action for the San Marino MotoGP at Misano with the quickest time in only his second outing aboard the RS-GP.
The ex-Yamaha rider made his much anticipated Aprilia debut last time out at Aragon and enjoyed a modest return to action, finishing 18th out of the 20 finishers.
However, the combination of him having conducted his first-ever test on the RS-GP at Misano last month and Aprilia’s intimate knowledge of the venue as the only team able to test freely without restriction, meant Vinales was straight up to speed in FP1.
His best lap of 1m 32.666s might have been pressured in FP2 had rain not descended on the Adriatic coast, meaning the morning lap times stood to the end of the day.
Behind Vinales, Joan Mir was an encouraging second fastest, the Spaniard no doubt looking to snatch the headlines with a run to the podium like he did 12 months ago, while talk of the town Pecco Bagnaia - winner last time out at Aragon - was third best.
Jack Miller followed up in fourth from the under pressure Alex Rins on the second Suzuki and Pol Espargaro, while championship leader Fabio Quartararo was the best of the Yamaha contingent in seventh from wild-card Stefan Bradl in eighth, Marc Marquez in ninth and Aleix Espargaro on the second Aprilia in tenth.
Elsewhere, the wet FP2 session saw Johann Zarco set the fastest time, albeit 20secs down on the morning runners, while Franco Morbidelli made his debut in ‘blue’ of the Factory Yamaha team in 16th as he returns from a knee injury, while Andrea Dovizioso brought up the rear in 24th on the Petronas SRT Yamaha.
2021 San Marino MotoGP | Misano | Free Practice Results [FP1 + FP2]
| 2021 San Marino MotoGP | Misano | Free Practice Results [FP1 + FP2] | Round 14 / 19 | |||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | MotoGP Team | MotoGP Bike | Timing |
| 1 | Maverick Vinales | ESP | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 32.666 |
| 2 | Joan Mir | ESP | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1m 32.746 |
| 3 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 32.801 |
| 4 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 32.859 |
| 5 | Alex Rins | ESP | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1m 32.885 |
| 6 | Pol Espargaro | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.019 |
| 7 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 33.024 |
| 8 | Stefan Bradl | GER | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.047 |
| 9 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.100 |
| 10 | Aleix Espargaro | ESP | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 33.102 |
| 11 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 33.143 |
| 12 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Esponsorama | Ducati GP19 | 1m 33.314 |
| 13 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda Idemitsu | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.409 |
| 14 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Pramac Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 33.451 |
| 15 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 33.482 |
| 16 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 33.570 |
| 17 | Iker Lecuona | ESP | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 33.710 |
| 18 | Alex Marquez | ESP | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.766 |
| 19 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 33.791 |
| 20 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 33.950 |
| 21 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 34.022 |
| 22 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 34.026 |
| 23 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Esponsorama | Ducati GP19 | 1m 34.037 |
| 24 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 35.211 |
