Just a week after the previous round in Portugal, won by Quartararo, MotoGP rolled into Jerez on Friday for the opening day of the sixth round of the 2022 campaign.
Overnight rain left damp patches on track for FP1, but the session was still run on slicks, with Suzuki’s Joan Mir leading his team-mate Alex Rins.
Reigning world champion Quartararo crashed at the final corner and had an embarrassing moment when he injured his groin while jumping back on his bike.
But it hindered him little, as the Frenchman romped to the top of the leaderboard in FP2 to end Friday fastest of all with a 1m37.071s.
He headed former championship leader Enea Bastianini on the Gresini Ducati, with factory team Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia completing the top three.
Jorge Martin was fourth on the Pramac Ducati, with LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami the top Honda runner in fifth ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder and the factory team Honda of Pol Espargaro.
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Rins was eighth on the combined order, with Maverick Vinales on the Aprilia and Ducati’s Jack Miller rounding out the top 10.
Alex Rins, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Mir slid to 12th on the combined order after FP2, but said later that he made a mistake at Turn 2 on his final run and couldn’t improve his time.
Six-time world champion Marc Marquez was only 19th after Friday’s running having crashed twice in FP2.
The 2022 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix continues on Saturday with final practice and qualifying, with track action beginning at 9:55am local time (8:55am BST).
2022 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix: Friday practice results
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