Two practice sessions in opposite conditions opened up the MotoGP weekend at Jerez de la Frontera. In fact, the morning FP1 sessions were accompanied by intermittent rain that left the Spanish track wet for the entire time. Aleix Espargaró demonstrated excellent harmony with his Aprilia, maintaining a good pace and finishing the session with the seventh best time, just seven tenths behind the best. Sam Lowes approached the treacherous session a bit more cautiously, waiting for the conditions to stabilize in order to gain confidence on the damp asphalt. In the eight laps Sam did, he earned eighteenth place.

FP2 was dry, with the track improving but some damp patches still hindering the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders. It was precisely in a slippery area just off the line where Aleix fell victim to a harmless crash during a promising lap, but he was able to restart almost immediately with his second RS-GP. The rather different settings did not give the Spanish rider the same feeling, but he still managed to finish in the top 10 (ninth place at +1.059). Sam Lowes is improving, especially in terms of his feeling in the saddle. Only a few problems in the final stage when he was trying to improve his time on a new tyre kept him from moving up a few positions in the standings.