Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez set the pace in first practice at Austin, beating nearest challenger Valentino Rossi by a little under four tenths of a second. Marquez sat atop the timesheets virtually throughout the 45-minute session at the Circuit of the Americas, a track where the Spaniard is unbeaten, ending up setting a best time of 2m05.530s. The Honda rider was more than a second clear of the field in the early stages, which were characterised by a dirty track surface, but Marquez's rivals were able to close in on their final runs. The track has undergone a diamond-grinding process in recent weeks, in an effort to eliminate the track's notorious bumps, but this has left a lot...
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