MotoGP Japan: Yamaha's Lorenzo fastest in crash-filled practice two
Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo finished second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi on top for Yamaha
Lorenzo set his fastest time after the chequered flag to lead Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, Suzuki's Maverick Vinales and championship leader Marc Marquez following a dramatic conclusion to the session.
UPDATE: Pedrosa to miss Japanese GP after crash
Marquez started it all with six minutes to go, when he lost the front end of his Honda at the Turn 10 hairpin, staying with his bike and stopping in the middle of the track but able to remount and ride away.
Moments later, his team-mate Dani Pedrosa had a massive highside at Turn 11 and Aspar Ducati rider Eugene Laverty crashed heavily at the high-speed Turn 6.
Both riders were taken to the medical centre for checks, Pedrosa wary of his right collarbone and Laverty conscious but initially on a stretcher, while Marc VDS Honda's Jack Miller then also crashed at Turn 3.
At the medical centre, Pedrosa was diagnosed with a fracture in his right collarbone.
On the timesheets, practice one pacesetter Dovizioso led the way into the closing stages with a time of 1m45.737s, 0.007 seconds clear of Marquez, who was fastest early on.
Dovizioso improved twice more on his final run, to a 1m45.489s and then 1m45.204s, but he did not finish on top of the order.
When the chequered flag was shown Vinales was fastest with a 1m45.248s, before Lorenzo recorded a 1m45.151s.
While Dovizioso's final effort was good enough for second, 0.053s slower than Lorenzo, Vinales lost three tenths in the last sector and did not improve, and he had to settle for third.
Marquez made it four different manufacturers inside the top four, finishing ahead of LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow, Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi in a top seven split by 0.381s.
Danilo Petrucci was eighth for Pramac Ducati, ahead of Pedrosa, Pol Espargaro and Aprilia pair Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista, with Espargaro and Bradl both coming unstuck in the first half of the session.
Laverty was 13th from Hector Barbera, on the second factory Ducati for the weekend in Andrea Iannone's absence.
Returning Tech3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith remained 21st and 3.746s off the pace, while Mike Jones made steady progress during his first day on a MotoGP bike - Barbera's regular Avintia Ducati - a further 2.058s adrift.
SECOND PRACTICE RESULTS:
Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 1m45.151s | - | 17 |
2 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1m45.204s | 0.053s | 16 |
3 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | 1m45.248s | 0.097s | 20 |
4 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1m45.303s | 0.152s | 20 |
5 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | 1m45.501s | 0.350s | 18 |
6 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | 1m45.513s | 0.362s | 19 |
7 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1m45.532s | 0.381s | 21 |
8 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Ducati | 1m46.172s | 1.021s | 17 |
9 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1m46.227s | 1.076s | 15 |
10 | Pol Espargaro | Tech3 Yamaha | 1m46.245s | 1.094s | 9 |
11 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia | 1m46.367s | 1.216s | 18 |
12 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | 1m46.834s | 1.683s | 18 |
13 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar Ducati | 1m46.853s | 1.702s | 14 |
14 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | 1m46.876s | 1.725s | 16 |
15 | Yonny Hernandez | Aspar Ducati | 1m46.981s | 1.830s | 14 |
16 | Scott Redding | Pramac Ducati | 1m47.032s | 1.881s | 17 |
17 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha | 1m47.135s | 1.984s | 19 |
18 | Jack Miller | Marc VDS Honda | 1m47.244s | 2.093s | 13 |
19 | Tito Rabat | Marc VDS Honda | 1m47.972s | 2.821s | 22 |
20 | Loris Baz | Avintia Ducati | 1m48.669s | 3.518s | 17 |
21 | Bradley Smith | Tech3 Yamaha | 1m48.897s | 3.746s | 15 |
22 | Mike Jones | Avintia Ducati | 1m50.955s | 5.804s | 21 |
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments