Valentino Rossi led the way in the opening practice session for this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix at Misano that was marked by numerous crashes. At his home circuit, Rossi seized control of the timesheets in the closing stages with a succession of quick laptimes, the last of which put him 0.136s clear of nearest challenger Pol Espargaro. The Spaniard has been a factor near the top all session, setting the quickest time with 12 minutes remaining aboard the satellite Tech 3 Yamaha with a 1m33.642s. That remained the benchmark until Rossi set a 1m33.605s on the works machine, which the seven-time premier class champion swiftly followed up with a 1m33.523s and then a 1m33.451s on his last...
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