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Mugello MotoGP: Andrea Iannone fastest again in FP2

Suzuki rider Andrea Iannone continued his strong Mugello MotoGP form by topping second practice for the Italian Grand Prix, which was interrupted by a major crash for Michele Pirro

The session was suspended with 29 minutes left on the clock when Ducati wildcard Pirro was launched off his bike on the downhill approach to the first corner, San Donato.

A replay of the incident showed the front wheel of the Desmosedici locking as the rear of the bike went up in the air, before suddenly regaining grip and throwing Pirro high into the air.

Pirro lost consciousness as he hit the ground, but was conscious again by the time he was taken to the medical centre by ambulance. He was subsequently transported to hospital by helicopter.

After a pause of 20 minutes, the session was resumed, only to then be halted again when Andrea Dovizioso's engine blew at San Donato, leaving a trail of oil on track and causing the Ducati to catch fire.

Moments before, FP1 pacesetter Iannone had improved to a best time of 1m47.274s, and shortly after the second stoppage Honda man Marc Marquez moved to the top on a 1m47.218s, recovering from a minor low-side crash at Turn 4 between the two red flags.

That stood as the quickest time until the final three minutes, when Yamaha's Maverick Vinales posted a 1m47.122s, but that was beaten by 0.387s in the dying moments by Iannone's 1m46.735s effort.

Vinales remained second ahead of Marquez, while Johann Zarco and Jack Miller completed the top five narrowly ahead of Cal Crutchlow.

Home hero Valentino Rossi was seventh-fastest on the second works Yamaha ahead of Franco Morbidelli, who ran as high as third before dropping down late on.

The only two GP18 Ducati riders to enjoy a clean session, Danilo Petrucci and Jorge Lorenzo, completed the top 10 ahead of another Honda rookie, Takaaki Nakagami.

Dovizioso was classified 12th after his blow-up, followed by the second Honda of Dani Pedrosa, while Iannone's Suzuki team-mate Alex Rins was a lowly 15th, 1.261s off the pace.

Aleix Espargaro was the lead Aprilia rider in 16th after a late crash at San Donato, while Thomas Luthi suffered his second fall in as many sessions on his way to 23rd.

FP2 times

Pos Rider Team Time Gap Laps
1 Andrea Iannone Suzuki 1m46.735s - 21
2 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 1m47.122s 0.387s 23
3 Marc Marquez Honda 1m47.218s 0.483s 21
4 Johann Zarco Tech3 Yamaha 1m47.365s 0.630s 22
5 Jack Miller Pramac Ducati 1m47.403s 0.668s 21
6 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 1m47.433s 0.698s 21
7 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m47.445s 0.710s 21
8 Franco Morbidelli MVDS Honda 1m47.497s 0.762s 20
9 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Ducati 1m47.569s 0.834s 21
10 Jorge Lorenzo Ducati 1m47.691s 0.956s 22
11 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda 1m47.901s 1.166s 22
12 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1m47.902s 1.167s 21
13 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m47.924s 1.189s 20
14 Hafizh Syahrin Tech3 Yamaha 1m47.946s 1.211s 20
15 Alex Rins Suzuki 1m47.996s 1.261s 22
16 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1m48.113s 1.378s 17
17 Tito Rabat Avintia Ducati 1m48.221s 1.486s 20
18 Pol Espargaro KTM 1m48.269s 1.534s 20
19 Scott Redding Aprilia 1m48.458s 1.723s 18
20 Alvaro Bautista Aspar Ducati 1m48.524s 1.789s 21
21 Karel Abraham Aspar Ducati 1m48.926s 2.191s 17
22 Bradley Smith KTM 1m49.044s 2.309s 18
23 Thomas Luthi MVDS Honda 1m49.082s 2.347s 21
24 Michele Pirro Ducati 1m49.111s 2.376s 5
25 Xavier Simeon Avintia Ducati 1m49.757s 3.022s 19


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