MotoGP Laguna Seca, Free Practice 1: Crutchlow the fastest, surprises Marquez

The MotoGP class riders took part in the first free practice session of Red Bull US Grand Prix, ninth stage of the 2013 world championship which takes place on the Laguna Seca track. The twenty-four pilots were "welcomed" by 15 degrees in the air and 26 on the asphalt. Dani Pedrosa didn't turn and, despite being declared "fit", he preferred not to take risks given the temperatures of the asphalt.

On the contrary, the reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo took to the track with 23 minutes to go, fresh from the second operation on his left collarbone, already operated after the fall in free practice at Assen and subsequently subjected to a new surgical operation after the fall in free practice at Sachsenring .

The best time of the session was achieved by Cal Crutchlow, rider of the Yamaha Tech 3 Team. The Briton lapped in 1:22.757, putting his M1 SAT ahead of Valentino Rossi's Factory one, which closed just 91 thousandths behind the courted rider from Ducati

The Pesaro rider then finishes second and ahead of world championship leader Marc Marquez, who was "seeing" Laguna Seca for the first time and who has already made it clear that he will be a great protagonist again this weekend.

A true champion in Honda's #93 who surprised everyone by immediately going so fast on a difficult and treacherous circuit like the US one. He is now struggling to find the words for the man who in Austin at the beginning of the season had become the youngest poleman and winner of a Grand Prix in the Top Class.

Behind the former 125cc (2010) and Moto2 (2012) world champion was the German Stefan Bradl, riding the Honda RC213V of Lucio Cecchinello's Team, followed by that of the Spanish Team Gresini Alvaro Bautista.

The first Ducati is that of Andrea Dovizioso, sixth at 623 thousandths. The driver from Forlì on the track with the new chassis preceded the ART CRT of Team Aspar of Aleix Espargarò, team-mate Nicky Hayden, Bradley Smith and Randy de Puniet.

Eleventh time instead for Jorge Lorenzo, who did not want to take unnecessary risks, while Alex de Angelis, riding the Ducati GP13 of the injured Andrea Iannone, finished thirteenth.

The Italians with the CRTs are Danilo Petrucci from Terni, seventeenth with the Ioda Suter BMW of the Came Iodaracing Team and Claudio Corti, nineteenth with the FTR Kawasaki of the NGM Mobile Team.