What went on in first MotoGP practice at Mugello

LCR Honda MotoGP rider Takaaki Nakagami led the way in the opening premier-class practice session of the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Mugello.

Key moments:

> Nakagami 0.408s clear

> No Yamahas in top 10

> Aprilia debuts striking rear wing

A uniquely tight top three, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Alex Rins (Suzuki) all covered by just 0.001s, was leapfrogged by Nakagami with 15 minutes left on the clock.

And the Japanese rider then used a fresh set of medium tyres to find nearly another four tenths, cementing himself as the pace-setter in the session.

Late bits for improvement from Espargaro and Bagnaia went begging, meaning the duo ended up on the same laptime in effectively a joint second place, with Rins right behind and Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini completing the top five.

Maverick Vinales, who like Espargaro has secured a new Aprilia deal for 2023 and 2024, was 0.005s behind Bastianini in sixth, with Jack Miller of Ducati in seventh.

There were two instances of riders ending up on the same laptime within the top nine, with former KTM team-mates Pol Espargaro (now at Honda) and Johann Zarco (now at Pramac Ducati) joint eighth-fastest.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo took up his customary position as the lead Yamaha, but was only 11th, sandwiched between the VR46 Ducati of Luca Marini and the World Superbike-liveried Ducati of test rider Michele Pirro.

There were also no KTMs in the top 10, its contingent led by Brad Binder in 17th – with Miguel Oliveira, strongly linked with a demotion to the Tech3 satellite squad, right behind.

With Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori making a wildcard appearance alongside Pirro, he trialled what was effectively a race car-style rear wing on his RS-GP, and ended up 22nd.

I spy some new aero! 👀@lorysava32 has an interesting winglet on the tail unit of his RS-GP! 🤩#MotoGP | #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/6dHuV5Ak0V

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 27, 2022

Practice 1 Results