MotoGP: Marquez leads Rossi in first practice

Marc Marquez kicked off the Mugello MotoGP weekend by topping the timesheets in opening practice for the Italian Grand Prix.

The runaway points leader remained under the radar for much of the session before vaulting up the order in the final moments with a time of 1m48.004s to demote Valentino Rossi, who celebrates his 300th grand prix this weekend.

The Italian veteran finished 0.382 second behind on his Yamaha when the checkered flag fell, with Andrea Iannone emerging third quickest after having the most productive morning with 21 laps under his belt.

Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo were fourth and fifth respectively, with Dovizioso having led for much of the first half of the session.

Aleix Espargaro took Open class honors with a time of 1m48.743s on his NGM Yamaha and was a slender 0.078sec from deposing Lorenzo for fifth towards the finish.

There were a trio of off-track moments at San Donato during the session involving Pol Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista. The 2013 Moto2 champion lost his Tech 3 Yamaha twice at the first corner, with the second proving the most costly halfway through the session when he took a tumble through the gravel and destroyed his bike. Unscathed, Espargaro resumed running on his back-up machine and finished 1.304s off the ultimate pace in 12th.

Bautista also took a trip through the gravel with five minutes remaining to bring an end to his session, although his Gresini Honda came off lightly in comparison to Espargaro's off.

Ducati test rider Michele Pirro is a wild card entrant this weekend, and he finished in 14th position on the team's development bike.

Danilo Petrucci was due to make his return to MotoGP action today after suffering from a wrist injury which resulted in his omission from the previous two grand prix. His comeback has been delayed, however, after he failed a medical examination and the Ioda Racing rider will sit on the sidelines once again this weekend.