The final round of the MotoGP season has arrived as we return to the very iconic Valencia. With cloudy but dry conditions on the track, it was Jack Miller who was the fastest of the session. Let’s have a look at what happened in FP1 today.

A delayed start

A wet Moto2 session prior to FP1 meant that this session was a bit delayed. Turn 6 on the circuit had some stagnant water which caused some accidents during the Moto2 session.

While the Marshalls made sure to get the track cleared and ready for them, the riders spent their time in the garages. Luckily for them, their session was ultimately dry, missing the warm sun that is often paired with the Valencian circuit.

Marquez looks dominant

The championship runner-up Alex Marquez spent the majority of the session on provisional pole. The Spaniard looked comfortable around the circuit, and for the most part, the quickest of the riders.

Marquez’ session was spent on the same set of tyres, meaning as his tyres began to give, so did his lap times. Remaining on these tyres for the entire 45 minute session left room for those swapping to fresh sets to match his pace.

Also sticking to the same rubber for the session was both Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia. The duo had a pretty tame session today and were 18th and 21st when the chequered flag flew. Fans were happy to see both Maverick Viñales and Jorge Martin return to action this weekend, having taken time off for injuries. The session was allowed the two to get back into the swing of it, finishing 19th and 24th respectively.

New rubber made the difference

Those who switched to fresh tyres for the last minutes of the session were the ones that saw improvement. Jack Miller performed a brilliant lap on his new set, knocking Marquez from his session long time at the top. The Aussie jumped from 14th to 1st.

Also switching was Ai Ogura who had a very impressive end to FP1. The rookie managed P2 in the session, 0.323 seconds behind Miller. Morbidelli was the fastest of the ‘old-rubber-runners’. He managed to improve his time around Valencia and knocked Alex Marquez down another position, finishing 5th. Fermin Aldeguer had an early exit to FP1, crashing in the final minutes at turn 4. Luckily he was okay and able to walk away from the crash.

The key take away from this session for most riders was the improvements that were made when switching to new rubber. The medium tyres looked ideal in the conditions, with the majority of the grid opting for the Soft front – Medium rear combo. The only exception was Nico Bulega who ran a few laps on a hard compound. He finished FP1 in 23rd position.