It was no surprise that the early pacesetting was done by the Q1 graduates Alex Marquez (LCR Castrol Honda) and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing), as the pair put their track knowledge to brilliant use. But as the other ten riders got up to speed, and the track dried out further, the pace began to heat up. Three minutes were left when Zarco hit the top for the first time, but he was displaced just 30 seconds later by factory Suzuki’s Mir.