The Aprilia rider, Maverick Vinales, dominated the opening MotoGP practice at Circuit of the Americas in Texas, while Marc Marquez had a good start. Marquez, who has a strong track record at COTA with six victories in the premier class, initially struggled but ended up leading the time sheets. However, Vinales, wearing a Batman tribute helmet, was consistently quick throughout the session and ended up with the fastest lap time. The track has undergone partial repaving since the last MotoGP visit, which artificially inflated lap times in 2023 due to the format used at the time. Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta were Vinales’ closest rivals, finishing in second and third place, respectively. Last year’s race winner, Enea Bastianini, had a good start even while using used tires towards the end of the session. Defending champion Alex Rins finished 13th in his first session at COTA with Yamaha. The session saw a fall from Alex Marquez, who quickly returned to his Ducati and continued.
