Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco topped first practice for the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix, snatching first late on from Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo.
As has been the case since the British GP, the opening 45-minute session of the weekend does not count towards the qualifying groups for Saturday.
A subsequent 1m30.270s re-established Vinales at the top of the order, which stood as the benchmark for around the next eight minutes. Quartararo, who has topped just two warm-up sessions across 2023 so far, looked on course to end FP1 fastest of all as the chequered flag neared.Behind the top three came Gresini's Alex Marquez on a 1m30.286s. He was forced to park up early on in the session due to an apparent front fork issue, which led to smoke bellowing out of his bike every time he touched the front brake.
Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia holds a 41-point advantage coming to Austria and was eighth at the end of FP1 on his factory Ducati from British GP winner Aleix Espargaro and 2021 Red Bull Ring race victor Jorge Martin .
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