Sepang MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo fastest in rain-delayed practice two
Jorge Lorenzo set the pace in a rain-soaked second MotoGP practice session at Sepang, beating Marc Marquez by just over two tenths of a second to top the timesheets
The session was red-flagged almost as soon as it began due to the arrival of a heavy rain shower, with proceedings resuming after a 20 minute delay on a very wet circuit.
The times rapidly tumbled as track conditions improved, and it was Lorenzo who took charge with a succession of fastest laps.
Beating Marquez's early benchmark by three tenths, the factory Yamaha rider proceeded to lower his time by a further 4.4 seconds over the course of his first stint as he explored the limit.
Lorenzo's best time of 2m14.503s would stand until the end of the session, with Marquez ultimately falling 0.242s short when he returned to the track later in the session.
Morning pacesetter Dani Pedrosa, having spent much of the session in the lower reaches of the top 10, rose to third in the closing stages, albeit eight tenths adrift of Honda team-mate Marquez.
Andrea Dovizioso and Aleix Espargaro made late improvements to complete the top five ahead of Hector Barbera, whose last-ditch effort took him up to a surprise sixth place.
Stefan Bradl was one of the quickest riders in the first half of the session but faded to seventh late on, ahead of Andrea Iannone, who appeared to injure his elbow in a late crash at the last corner.
Nicky Hayden and Cal Crutchlow rounded off the top 10, while Philip Island winner Valentino Rossi could manage no better than 15th in a difficult session, 3.519s off the pace.
Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 2m14.503s | - |
2 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 2m14.745s | 0.242s |
3 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 2m15.582s | 1.079s |
4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 2m16.231s | 1.728s |
5 | Aleix Espargaro | Forward Racing | Forward Yamaha | 2m16.374s | 1.871s |
6 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 2m16.693s | 2.190s |
7 | Stefan Bradl | LCR | Honda | 2m16.706s | 2.203s |
8 | Andrea Iannone | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 2m16.793s | 2.290s |
9 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar | Honda | 2m16.868s | 2.365s |
10 | Cal Crutchlow | Ducati | Ducati | 2m16.906s | 2.403s |
11 | Karel Abraham | Cardion AB Motoracing | Honda | 2m17.259s | 2.756s |
12 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 2m17.384s | 2.881s |
13 | Hiroshi Aoyama | Aspar | Honda | 2m17.411s | 2.908s |
14 | Alvaro Bautista | Gresini Racing | Honda | 2m17.434s | 2.931s |
15 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 2m18.022s | 3.519s |
16 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2m18.043s | 3.540s |
17 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 2m18.544s | 4.041s |
18 | Alex de Angelis | Forward Racing | Forward Yamaha | 2m18.662s | 4.159s |
19 | Michael Laverty | Paul Bird Motorsport | PBM/Aprilia | 2m19.151s | 4.648s |
20 | Danilo Petrucci | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 2m19.301s | 4.798s |
21 | Scott Redding | Gresini Racing | Honda | 2m19.726s | 5.223s |
22 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Avintia/Kawasaki | 2m20.725s | 6.222s |
23 | Broc Parkes | Paul Bird Motorsport | PBM/Aprilia | 2m20.781s | 6.278s |
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