Jorge Lorenzo denied Valentino Rossi a home top spot in Mugello practice, as Marc Marquez escaped a violent accident.
Marquez, who had been fastest in the morning, lost control under braking at the end of a 200mph straight.
His Honda slid onto the wet grass lining the track and slammed to the ground before sliding into the gravel.
Marquez crawled away from the wreckage and was taken straight to the medical centre for checks.
Initial notification from race control was that the Spaniard had not sustained any serious injuries.
The accident was the worse part of a difficult session for Honda, which could only watch as rival Yamaha dominated.
Rossi and Lorenzo swapped first position relentlessly, in one of seven-time Mugello MotoGP race-winner Rossi’s strongest performances since rejoining Yamaha.
The home crowd will have to wait to see Rossi end a session on top, though, as Lorenzo snatched the place away in the closing moments with a 1m48.375s, 0.034 seconds faster than the sister M1.
Yamaha filled the top three positions, with Cal Crutchlow third for Tech 3.
In addition to Marquez’s accident, Crutchlow’s team-mate Bradley Smith also needed a trip to the medical centre following a violent crash. He is being assessed for a possible left arm injury.
Ducati had an encouraging session on home ground. Nicky Hayden was fourth, pushing championship leader Dani Pedrosa’s Honda back to fifth.
Hayden’s team-mates Andrea Dovizioso and Michele Pirro were seventh and 10th, but second-best Ducati was Pramac’s Andrea Iannone, who benefited from tailing Rossi on his way to sixth.
Aspar rider Randy de Puniet led the CRT pack in ninth place overall.
Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby André Guelfi Miguel Ángel Guerra
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