The opening day of the #JapaneseGP did not disappoint, a Yamaha charge dominated the opening session, with Viñales leading the way, from Quartararo and Morbidelli. However during the FP2 session, Quartararo blazed ahead of his Yamaha compatriot Viñales with Marquez following closely in 3^rd.

Yamaha’s contender for Rookie of the Year,  Quartararo topped the timesheets on the opening day, with a time of 1:44:764. Viñales followed closely in 2^nd with a time of 1:45:085. Rossi placed 5^th, setting a time of 1:45:466, ‘The Doctor’ made the decision to switch from the new carbon swingarm and twin pipe, back to the aluminium swingarm and single exhaust, after 3 GPs with the newer set up. Morbidelli set a time of 1:45:562, which placed him 6^th.

2019 MotoGP World Champion Marquez placed 3^rd overall on the opening day, setting a time of 1:45:100. Marquez is the sole Honda to appear in the top 10.

Ducati’s front runner Dovizioso had a strong opening day, placing 4^th overall, with a time of 1:45:414. Pramac Racing’s Miller placed 7^th having set a time of 1:45:577. Petrucci showed some pace over the opening sessions, placing himself 8^th with a time of 1:45:619.

Suzuki’s contender for Rookie of the Year Mir was the fastest of the Suzuki duo on the opening day. Setting a time of 1:45:641 placed him 9^th.

Aprilia frontrunner A. Espargaro set a time of 1:45:721, placing him 10^th.

With torrential downpour forecast for tomorrow, could this be our Q2 contenders? Notable absentees would be Rins, Crutchlow and P. Espargaro, who may have to battle through Q1.