Marc Marquez headed the field on day one at Valencia. Image: MotoGP.com.

Honda’s Marc Marquez has landed the first blow in the final MotoGP World Championship title fight, topping the timesheets after two free practice sessions at Valencia.

The standout rookie set the pace in the morning session, pipping rival Jorge Lorenzo by 0.018s, while the second factory Honda of Dani Pedrosa trailed by just 0.006s.

Windy conditions in the afternoon session did little to hamper the forwards progress of the top three, with Marquez maintaining his position at the top of the timesheets, his eventual 1m31.220 lap emerging the benchmark effort of the day.

Pedrosa was able to improve a position to round out the day in second, 0.092 seconds from his teammate, while Lorenzo remained well in check, just over a tenth off the pace of Marquez.

Encouraging pace from Cal Crutchlow saw the Monster Tech3 Yamaha rider run fourth in his final weekend with the squad, heading home the factory M1 of Valentino Rossi who completed the top five.

Australia’s Bryan Staring placed 23rd on the timesheets in his final outing as the GO&FUN Gresini CRT pilot.

His 1m35.478 lap had him 0.166s clear of fellow Aussie Damian Cudlin (24th) who is rounding out the year aboard the Paul Bird Motorsport in-house machine.

Newly-crowned Moto2 World Champion Pol Esparagaro led both sessions in the second-tier class, riding a wave of confidence after the recent turn of fortunes which saw him in the position to secure the title a round early.

Tuenti HP 40 teammate Esteve Rabat was second, with Swiss rider Thom Luthi running third on the Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Suter from Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis and Simon Corsi.

Aussie Ant West finished the second and final free practice in the mid-pack, lapping his QMMF Racing Team machine around 1.3 seconds off Espargaro’s pace, good for 18th place.

The three riders in the frame to fight for the Moto3 title were all top three finishers after the second free practice session, with Estrella Galicia’s Alex Rins first from Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Luis Salom and Team Calvo’s Maverick Vinales.

Just five points separate the form trio heading into the season finale, setting up an engaging grand prix come Sunday.

Australian Jack Miller’s final weekend with the Caretta Technology RTG outfit started on a high note as he finished as the fifth-fastest rider and first non-KTM machine.

Miller will go in search of a maiden GP podium this weekend but is already secure in a front-running seat with Red Bull KTM for 2014 where top three finishes are almost assured.

Arthur Sissis, meanwhile, will complete his final outing with the Ajo Motorsport squad at Valencia, and will be hopeful of forward progress on day two after managing just 16th on the timesheets after free practice.

2013 MotoGP World Championship
Round 18 – Valencia, Spain

MotoGP free practice:
1. Marc MARQUEZ 1m31.220
2. Dani PEDROSA 1m31.286
3. Jorge LORENZO 1m31.378
4. Cal CRUTCHLOW 1m31.502
5. Valentino ROSSI 1m31.639
6. Stefan BRADL 1m31.858
7. Alvaro BAUTISTA 1m31.873
8. Bradley SMITH 1m31.984
9. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 1m32.363
10. Nicky HAYDEN 1m32.395
11. Andrea IANNONE 1m32.596
12. Michele PIRRO 1m32.756
13. Aleix ESPARGARO 1m32.809
14. Claudio CORTI 1m33.172
15. Colin EDWARDS 1m33.252
16. Hector BARBERA 1m33.270
17. Danilo PETRUCCI 1m33.304
18. Yonny HERNANDEZ 1m33.487
19. Randy DE PUNIET 1m33.727
20. Luca SCASSA 1m34.049
23. Bryan STARING (AUS) 1m35.478
24. Damian CUDLIN (AUS) 1m35.644

Moto2 free practice:
1. Pol ESPARGARO 1m35.548
2. Esteve RABAT 1m35.690
3. Thomas LUTHI 1m35.974
4. Alex DE ANGELIS 1m35.999
5. Simone CORSI 1m36.0378
6. Jordi TORRES 1m36.083
7. Mika KALLIO 1m36.119
8. Nicolas TEROL 1m36.129
9. Xavier SIMEON 1m36.168
10. Julian SIMON 1m36.189
11. Takaaki NAKAGAMI 1m36.217
12. Johann ZARCO 1m36.349
13. Mattia PASINI 1m36.400
14. Dominique AEGERTER 1m36.494
15. Scott REDDING 1m36.751
16. Sandro CORTESE 1m36.798
17. Alex MARIÑELARENA 1m36.844
18. Anthony WEST 1m36.850
19. Marcel SCHROTTER 1m36.890
20. Ricard CARDUS 1m37.075

Moto3 free practice:
1. Alex RINS 1m40.489
2. Luis SALOM 1m40.502
3. Maverick VIÑALES 1m40.580
4. Jonas FOLGER 1m41.175
5. Jack MILLER 1m41.195
6. Efren VAZQUEZ 1m41.276
7. Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN 1m41.311
8. Niccolò ANTONELLI 1m41.399
9. Alexis MASBOU 1m41.443
10. Niklas AJO 1m41.539
11. Ana CARRASCO 1m41.572
12. Romano FENATI 1m41.580
13. Alex MARQUEZ 1m41.601
14. Philipp OETTL 1m41.713
15. Matteo FERRARI 1m41.767
16. Arthur SISSIS 1m41.771
17. Miguel OLIVEIRA 1m41.801
18. Jasper IWEMA 1m41.902
19. Juanfran GUEVARA 1m42.018
20. Jakub KORNFEIL 1m42.107

Click here for detailed results