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Motegi MotoGP: Yamaha's Lorenzo fastest again, Rossi eighth

Jorge Lorenzo continued his strong start to the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi, topping Friday's second practice session, while title rival Valentino Rossi was only eighth

The Yamaha rider led the way in the morning, and was on top for the majority of the afternoon running.

Having set a time of 1m45.535s early, he improved to 1m45.426s, which was one-tenth clear of the field entering the final five minutes.

With four minutes remaining, running a soft-compound option rear tyre, Bradley Smith jumped to the top with a lap of 1m45.250s.

He only stayed there for 90 seconds, though, as three-time Motegi winner Lorenzo became the first rider to dip below the 1m45s barrier with a 1m44.731s effort.

It was good enough to top the session, 0.128 seconds clear of Honda's Dani Pedrosa, who jumped up from 10th in the order with 30 seconds remaining.

Ducati riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso also improved in the closing stages to finish third and fourth, relegating Smith to fifth.

Aleix Espargaro was sixth for Suzuki, ahead of Marc Marquez and Rossi.

Marquez survived a wild moment at Turn 8 with 15 minutes remaining, while Loris Baz and Yamaha wildcard rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga both crashed at Turn 11 in separate incidents.

PRACTICE TWO TIMES:

Pos Rider Team Bike Time Gap Laps
1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Yamaha 1m44.731s - 15
2 Dani Pedrosa Honda Honda 1m44.859s 0.128s 20
3 Andrea Iannone Ducati Ducati 1m45.043s 0.312s 19
4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Ducati 1m45.059s 0.328s 18
5 Bradley Smith Tech 3 Yamaha 1m45.250s 0.519s 19
6 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki Suzuki 1m45.348s 0.617s 16
7 Marc Marquez Honda Honda 1m45.492s 0.761s 15
8 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Yamaha 1m45.554s 0.823s 19
9 Pol Espargaro Tech 3 Yamaha 1m45.597s 0.866s 19
10 Hector Barbera Avintia Racing Ducati 1m45.645s 0.914s 19
11 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 1m45.846s 1.115s 17
12 Scott Redding Marc VDS Honda 1m46.074s 1.343s 20
13 Maverick Vinales Suzuki Suzuki 1m46.464s 1.733s 17
14 Jack Miller LCR Honda 1m46.477s 1.746s 17
15 Yonny Hernandez Pramac Racing Ducati 1m46.563s 1.832s 16
16 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Racing Ducati 1m46.648s 1.917s 18
17 Stefan Bradl Aprilia Gresini Aprilia 1m46.649s 1.918s 16
18 Takumi Takahashi Honda Honda 1m46.650s 1.919s 20
19 Eugene Laverty Aspar Honda 1m46.770s 2.039s 18
20 Nicky Hayden Aspar Honda 1m46.827s 2.096s 16
21 Mike Di Meglio Avintia Racing Ducati 1m46.934s 2.203s 15
22 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia Gresini Aprilia 1m46.974s 2.243s 19
23 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha Yamaha 1m47.096s 2.365s 14
24 Loris Baz Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 1m47.219s 2.488s 17
25 Toni Elias Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 1m47.689s 2.958s 18
26 Alex de Angelis IodaRacing Project ART/Aprilia 1m48.572s 3.841s 14
27 Kosuke Akiyoshi AB Motoracing Honda 1m48.769s 4.038s 15

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