MotoGP Misano: Pol Espargaro fastest in second practice
Tech3 Yamaha rider Pol Espargaro led Honda's Dani Pedrosa to set the pace in second practice for MotoGP's San Marino Grand Prix
Espargaro was second in the morning session behind Valentino Rossi and showed that Misano form was no flash in the pan in the afternoon.
Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo led the way for the bulk of the session and with a time of 1m33.263s was 0.380 seconds clear of the pack before the late runs on new tyres.
When those started, Espargaro closed to within 0.110s, then became the weekend's first rider to lap beneath the 1m33s barrier with a time of 1m32.769s while circulating behind championship leader Marc Marquez.
That put the Spaniard 0.494s ahead, before Marquez, Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and ultimately Pedrosa closed that gap to 0.065s.
Dovizoso wound up third, 0.132s behind Espargaro, while his team-mate Andrea Iannone missed the session and will take no further part in the weekend, after his crash during first practice.
Lorenzo's consistency across each run was strong and he ultimately finished fourth, ahead of Marquez and Rossi, the local hero 0.618s off Espargaro's pace.
LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow was seventh fastest after a slow crash at Turn 14, while Scott Redding, Hector Barbera and Maverick Vinales completed the top 10.
Silverstone winner Vinales struggled in the afternoon's warmer conditions, true to Suzuki's 2016 form, and also had a time that would have put him seventh cancelled for exceeding track limits at the final corner.
Stefan Bradl at Turn 14 and Tito Rabat at Turn 12 both fell early on their way to the 17th and 19th fastest times.
FP2 TIMES
Pos | Rider | Team | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pol Espargaro | Tech3 Yamaha | 1m32.769s | 19 |
2 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 0.065s | 22 |
3 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 0.132s | 20 |
4 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 0.287s | 18 |
5 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 0.427s | 20 |
6 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 0.618s | 20 |
7 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | 0.731s | 19 |
8 | Scott Redding | Pramac Ducati | 0.783s | 19 |
9 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Ducati | 0.812s | 18 |
10 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | 0.860s | 20 |
11 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | 0.874s | 20 |
12 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Ducati | 1.034s | 19 |
13 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | 1.077s | 22 |
14 | Michele Pirro | Ducati | 1.116s | 20 |
15 | Alex Lowes | Tech3 Yamaha | 1.385s | 21 |
16 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar Ducati | 1.688s | 17 |
17 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia | 1.862s | 18 |
18 | Yonny Hernandez | Aspar Ducati | 1.950s | 19 |
19 | Tito Rabat | Marc VDS Honda | 1.956s | 22 |
20 | Jack Miller | Marc VDS Honda | 2.293s | 18 |
21 | Xavi Fores | Avintia Ducati | 3.277s | 18 |
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