Although Zarco was third-fastest and Vinales a close fifth, with just one dry session it was too small a sample to draw any conclusions.

Vianales, Japanese MotoGP 2018

But it was possible to find some encouragement, with Vinales saying: “It’s been a good daym honestly, because we confirmed that the improvement we made in Thailand was due to the set-up changes and not due to the tyres we used there. This weekend’s tyre works completely different from those in Thailand, but we still came close to the top in the morning.

“However, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I think we have to go ahead with this set-up to try to be better.”

Rossi placed ninth, and was more cautious.

“It’s difficult to assess the situation, because today wasn’t the perfect day to get an understanding,” he said. “I had some different things to try in the morning session and my pace wasn’t fantastic. On the other hand, Maverick and Zarco were strong, so this is positive.”

By Michael Scott

Photos GnG