Pol Espargaro began the first day of the 2015 MotoGP season with best lap time of 1’56.361 as the MotoGP paddock returned back to action at the Losail International Circuit. The young Spaniard got straight to work with his Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team and began refining the setup of the Yamaha YZR-M1 in preparation for the opening race on Sunday. The 23 year old finished the session in 11th and he set his quickest time on the 3rd lap as he completed 18 in total. His efforts saw him only a second from the top time and he also scored the fastest speed of the Yamaha MotoGP bikes with 344.6 kmh. Espargaro now looks onwards to tomorrow where he will intend to improve his position.

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith concluded the opening day of action under the floodlights in Qatar with a 13th placed finish in FP1. The young Briton dug deep and completed a total of 20 laps, which was more than any other rider, as he began making the necessary steps and changes to his MotoGP bike. Smith produced his best time of 1’56.428 on his 11th lap which left him only 0.067 behind his teammate. Having kicked off his MotoGP campaign today, the 23 year old optimistically awaits the other two free practice sessions tomorrow with a view of making additional steps forward and ascending up the grid.

Pol Espargaro - Position : 11th Time : 1'56.361  Laps : 18 

"Today was not a bad start to the 2015 season as we were fast straight away. However, we used the same tyre for the whole session and I wasn’t able to improve as the practice came to an end. In addition, I made a small mistake at the beginning of the session where I went wide on the track. Beside that, it's logical that after the rain this week the track conditions would not have been ideal and it certainly gave an advantage to the riders who used a softer tyre towards the end of the session, so we lost several positions. Yet, I'm confident already that tomorrow there will be more grip on the track so the situation will change and we will be further up the grid."

Bradley Smith - Position : 13th  Time : 1'56.428  Laps : 20 

"It’s good to get the first practice underway and be back riding again. The difference you feel when you are actually racing for real where it means something is amazing and you don’t get that sensation when testing. I think the track conditions today were a bit tricky and not ideal for the setting which we have in place at the moment. However, I know we will improve tomorrow when the grip level increases. My lap times were good and I actually rode a better time on the ideal laps, where I was more than three tenths faster than my final result which would have placed me well inside the top ten. We still need to work more with the rear of the Yamaha to make it easier for me to ride, as the bike is a bit nervous at the moment. In any case, it's nice to ride and just get a general feeling of the track as it's a quite tricky one and I'm already looking forward to the next two sessions tomorrow."