The Ducati Lenovo Team riders finish Jerez Practice in the top four, Francesco Bagnaia second quickest and Marc Márquez fourth

• An all-Ducati top 4: Alex Márquez topped the timesheets aboard the Gresini Racing Team’s Ducati machine and set the new outright lap record for the Spanish track in 1’35.991secs. Third place for Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Racing Team)

The Ducati Lenovo Team tackled the opening day of action for the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain at the ‘Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto’. Francesco Bagnaia finished the Practice session in second place, while his teammate Marc Márquez was fourth.

Bagnaia, who was seventh in the morning practice, got back in the lead in the closing stages of Practice, before ending up just over a tenth behind today’s fastest lap. Márquez, second in FP1, stayed in the top positions throughout the afternoon session, but was unable to improve his lap-time in the final moments.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume proceedings tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT +2) for Free Practice 2, which will be followed by Q2 (11:15) and by the 12-lap, fifth Sprint Race of the season, which gets underway at 15:00.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“We did a good lap, although a perfect one. We have to improve our performance with used tyres, we tried some things, but generally speaking I’m quite happy. The bike is very similar to last year’s but with some little changes, and I need to make a step forward in some areas of the track such as turns five, eleven and twelve. I’m happy with the result, but I’m always looking for more especially in sectors one and four, where Alex (Márquez) made the difference today.”

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 4th
“It wasn’t an easy day: we lost the first half of FP1, which made things a little more complex than expected. In the afternoon, step by step I was able to find my rhythm even tough, at the beginning, we lost our way a little bit with the set-up. I felt better in the last run, but we need to find the right direction and understand what we need to be fast and consistent. The benchmark at the moment is Alex, but it’ll also be important to see what the temperatures will be tomorrow because this could play a big role in the Sprint Race. The goal is to qualify on the front row, which is key for the rest of the weekend.”