Lorenzo finishes Friday well clear of chasing pack

Jorge Lorenzo has finished the opening day at Valencia well clear of the chasing pack, topping the time sheets by 0.266 from Dani Pedrosa.

Andrea Iannone and Valentino Rossi were a surprise third and fourth, with Rossi showing strong pace from the off to finish 0.031 behind the Ducati and 0.098 off second.

However, Marc Marquez was only 0.006 off the Italian, with Danilo Petrucci ensuring the top six was covered by less than half a second to complete the provisional second row of the grid.

Al Crutchlow was the best of the Brits in ninth, while Bradley Smith and Scott Redding struggled in fifteenth and twenty-first respectively.