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| - KTM rider Pol Espargaro set the quickest time in Friday's opening Styrian MotoGP free practice sessions as Ducati continued their strong form after last weekend's victory at the same Spielberg circuit. Spaniard Espargaro, who failed to finish either of his past two races, shot to the top of the timesheets in the second session at the Red Bull Ring after Australian Jack Miller was fastest in the morning. Espargaro was 0.221sec ahead of Ducati-Pramac rider Miller. Italian Andrea Dovizioso, the winner of the Austrian Grand Prix for the Ducati factory team five days ago, was a close third. Portugal's Miguel Oliveira of the KTM team satellite outfit, KTM-Red Bull-Tech 3, was fourth on the stable's home track, while championship leader Fabio Quartararo could only manage 14th. Quartararo has finished seventh and eighth since winning the opening two races of the coronavirus-hit campaign. He holds an 11-point lead over Dovizioso. Frenchman Johann Zarco, penalised Friday for his role in a crash with Franco Morbidelli last week, did not take part in the session after undergoing surgery on the wrist he injured in the collision. Zarco was sanctioned for "irresponsible riding" and will start his next race from the pitlane as punishment. He is due to have a medical to assess his fitness to ride in Saturday qualifying or Sunday's race. Injured defending champion Marc Marquez will miss his fourth race in a row after breaking an arm. Francesco Bagnaia is also still sidelined. Combined Styrian MotoGP first and second free practice times: 1. Pol Espargaro (ESP/KTM) 1.23:638, 2. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati-Pramac) at 0.221sec, 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 0.225, 4. Miguel Oliveira (POR/KTM-Tech3) 0.260, 5. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Honda-LCR) 0.266, 6. Joan Mir (ESP/Suzuki) 0.269, 7. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 0.371, 8. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yamaha) 0.422, 9. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Yamaha-SRT) 0.549, 10. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 0.613 14. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha-SRT) 0.743 jld/jr/mw/pb
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