Doggone it! Stray canine halts practice in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A stray dog halted first practice for Sunday's MotoGP race at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday after the animal ran onto the rain soaked track in front of riders.

The incident, on the same day that a spectator caused alarm by running across the main straight in Formula One practice at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, brought out the red flags for safety reasons.

The dog was caught and the session, which had already started late due to delays in getting marshals into position, resumed after a 20-minute delay.

"Dog gone. Let's get back on track," the Texan circuit's Twitter feed announced.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso was fastest on a Ducati, ahead of Spain's double world champion Marc Marquez on a Honda.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Tony Jimenez)