Practice 1
Repsol Honda sent out a message to their rivals as Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa topped the first Free Practice session at the Gran Premi de Catalunya in Barcelona. With track temperatures reaching 28 degrees, despite overhead cloud, it was Marquez who led the way with a 1’41.808 as he benefitted from a new exhaust on his RC213V. The team brought a number of updates to Barcelona to try to solve their woes, and they seem to be working, as Pedrosa was just 0.210s back from his teammate in second.
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro made use of the extra power from the engine update to his GSX-RR to finish in third, after lapping consistently in the low 1’42’s. Jorge Lorenzo (+0.650s) on the Movistar Yamaha was fourth fastest, ahead of Maverick Viñales (+0.747s) on the second GSX-RR and Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez (+0.786s).
Practice 2
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro delighted his home fans at the Catalan GP by ending the day on top of the combined timesheets.
It was thrilling first day of MotoGP™ Free Practice at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya in Barcelona that ended with Aleix Espargaro sending the fans home happy after he ended the day on top of the timesheets.
Conditions improved throughout the day with track temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius by FP2, which led to most riders improving their times in the afternoon practice session. The weather forecast for Saturday is mixed, therefore an extra emphasis was placed on Friday’s practice sessions, as if it rains tomorrow, today’s times could decide who makes it through automatically to Q2.
It was frantic last few minutes of FP2 as riders whacked on new slicks and headed out on track to put in one last flying lap. Espargaro left it until late to put in a 1’42.183, just 0.3s off Andrea Dovizioso’s 2014 lap record. The Catalan rider clearly benefitting from the engine upgrades to his GSX-RR machine.
The Repsol Honda’s of Marc Marquez (+0.285s) was the only man to get within half a second of the leading Suzuki as he debuted a new exhaust on his RC213V. His teammate Dani Pedrosa (+0.0631s) was in third ahead of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso (+0.665s) who, along with his teammate Iannone, was sporting modified winglets on his GP15 to cope with the higher curbs at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Team Suzuki Ecstar enjoyed a day to remember as Maverick Viñales (+0.764s) also showed good pace on the second GSX-RR to finish in fifth.
Results FP1 & FP2:
| Pos | Nº | Rider | Team | Motorbike | Laps | Best | Gap | |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Màrquez | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | HONDA | 17 | 1’41.808 | +341.3 |
| 2 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | HONDA | 21 | 1’42.018 | +0.210 |
| 3 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | SUZUKI | 16 | 1’42.183 | +0.375 |
| 4 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | YAMAHA | 17 | 1’42.458 | +0.650 |
| 5 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | SUZUKI | 18 | 1’42.555 | +0.747 |
| 6 | 68 | Yonny Hernandez | COL | Octo Pramac Racing | DUCATI | 17 | 1’42.594 | +0.786 |
| 7 | 69 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Aspar MotoGP Team | HONDA | 19 | 1’42.623 | +0.815 |
| 8 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | YAMAHA | 19 | 1’42.938 | +1.130 |
| 9 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | DUCATI | 18 | 1’42.945 | +1.137 |
| 10 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | CWM LCR Honda | HONDA | 18 | 1’42.957 | +1.149 |
| 11 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Ducati Team | DUCATI | 18 | 1’42.981 | +1.173 |
| 12 | 45 | Scott Redding | GBR | EG 0.0 Marc VDS | HONDA | 23 | 1’43.002 | +1.194 |
| 13 | 17 | Karel Abraham | CZE | AB Motoracing | HONDA | 18 | 1’43.008 | +1.200 |
| 14 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | YAMAHA | 18 | 1’43.116 | +1.308 |
| 15 | 38 | Bradley Smith | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | YAMAHA | 21 | 1’43.378 | +1.570 |
| 16 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | GER | Athinà Forward Racing | YAMAHA FORWARD | 19 | 1’43.536 | +1.728 |
| 17 | 8 | Héctor Barberá | SPA | Avintia Racing | DUCATI | 14 | 1’44.059 | +2.251 |
| 18 | 50 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Aspar MotoGP Team | HONDA | 21 | 1’44.062 | +2.254 |
| 19 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | CWM LCR Honda | HONDA | 19 | 1’44.357 | +2.549 |
| 20 | 76 | Loris Baz | FRA | Athinà Forward Racing | YAMAHA FORWARD | 16 | 1’44.594 | +2.786 |
| 21 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Octo Pramac Racing | DUCATI | 17 | 1’44.603 | +2.795 |
| 22 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | APRILIA | 19 | 1’44.676 | +2.868 |
| 23 | 63 | Mike Di Meglio | FRA | Avintia Racing | DUCATI | 15 | 1’44.768 | +2.960 |
| 24 | 15 | Alex De Angelis | RSM | E-Motion IodaRacing Team | ART | 17 | 1’44.865 | +3.057 |
| 25 | 33 | Marco Melandri | ITA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | APRILIA | 17 | 1’45.270 | +3.462 |
| Pos | Nº | Rider | Team | Motorbike | Laps | Best | Gap | |
| 1 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 17 | 1’41.158 | |
| 2 | 93 | Marc Màrquez | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 18 | 1’41.443 | +0.285 |
| 3 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 19 | 1’41.789 | +0.631 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 16 | 1’41.823 | +0.665 |
| 5 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 18 | 1’41.922 | +0.764 |
| 6 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 19 | 1’41.938 | +0.780 |
| 7 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 17 | 1’42.034 | +0.876 |
| 8 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | CWM LCR Honda | Honda | 17 | 1’42.044 | +0.886 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 20 | 1’42.313 | +1.155 |
| 10 | 45 | Scott Redding | GBR | EG 0.0 Marc VDS | Honda | 16 | 1’42.354 | +1.196 |
| 11 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 20 | 1’42.367 | +1.209 |
| 12 | 68 | Yonny Hernandez | COL | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 19 | 1’42.417 | +1.259 |
| 13 | 38 | Bradley Smith | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 21 | 1’42.645 | +1.487 |
| 14 | 8 | Hector Barbera | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 13 | 1’42.697 | +1.539 |
| 15 | 76 | Loris Baz | FRA | Athinà Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 15 | 1’42.968 | +1.810 |
| 16 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 19 | 1’42.995 | +1.837 |
| 17 | 69 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | 19 | 1’43.110 | +1.952 |
| 18 | 50 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | 19 | 1’43.351 | +2.193 |
| 19 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | CWM LCR Honda | Honda | 16 | 1’43.369 | +2.211 |
| 20 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 19 | 1’43.463 | +2.305 |
| 21 | 17 | Karel Abraham | CZE | AB Motoracing | Honda | 16 | 1’43.562 | +2.404 |
| 22 | 63 | Mike Di Meglio | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 15 | 1’43.760 | +2.602 |
| 23 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | GER | Athinà Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 17 | 1’43.851 | +2.693 |
| 24 | 15 | Alex De Angelis | RSM | E-Motion IodaRacing Team | Art | 18 | 1’44.614 | +3.456 |
| 25 | 33 | Marco Melandri | ITA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 16 | 1’45.323 | +4.165 |