Aruba.it Racing- Ducati rider Chaz Davies has topped the first practice session at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, edging out MV Agusta’s Leon Camier and Aprilia rider Lorenzo Savadori in a trio of Italian success in FP1.

With the early pace at Imola set by KRT rider Sykes, the session was red-flagged due to track conditions with oil on the track from an incident with 35 minutes on the clock. Once cleared, practice resumed some minutes later as the pit lane reopened at 11:05 local time (GMT +2), with Chaz Davies then taking almost four tenths off Sykes’ time as he started a run of continually faster laps, eventually setting a 1’47.517 that saw him top the session by half a second from MV Agusta rider Leon Camier.

Camier was the closest challenger to the fastest lap by Davies, again proving incredibly impressive on the Italian machine in MV Agusta’s home race. Lorenzo Savadori was another rider with incredible early pace at Imola, as the WorldSBK rookie posted the third fastest lap in the session on his Aprilia, just ahead of KRT rider and reigning Champion Jonathan Rea.

Rea, who shares the record for most wins in Imola with Carlos Checa, put in a consistent run in fourth as Friday focus for the KRT rider remains on race pace and getting to know the all new ZX-10R inside out. His teammate Tom Sykes, in turn the most successful qualifier at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, ended the session in P8 and 1.25 seconds off Davies’ fastest.

Davide Giugliano on the second Aruba.it Racing Ducati machine was fifth fastest on Friday morning, edging out Pata Yamaha rider Sylvain Guintoli. Guintoli was the fastest Yamaha in FP1, with teammate Alex Lowes just outside the top ten in P11. Matteo Baiocco, who is riding as replacement for injured Fabio Menghi at VFT Racing, kept his 1199 Panigale R in P7 for an incredible opening session for the Italian squad. Althea BMW pairing Markus Reiterberger and Jordi Torres completed the top ten in P9 and P10.

Dutch sensation Michael van der Mark edged out ‘Kentucky Kid’ teammate Nicky Hayden on the Honda, as the 2006 MotoGP World Champion gets to grips with the mythical ribbon of tarmac for the first time. The Honda WorldSBK Team pairing ended FP1 in P12 and P13, with a big margin for improvement in the afternoon as teams and riders push for entry into Tissot-Superpole 2.