Phillip Island MotoGP: Marc Marquez takes charge in practice two

Rain had made improvements hard to come by for the Moto3 riders immediately prior to the MotoGP session but while the track was damp in places at the start of second practice, a combination of strong winds and clearing skies quickly dried the circuit.

Most riders were consequently able to improve on their efforts from first practice relative early on in the session, with Marquez fastest on a 1m30.238s.

Lorenzo quickly moved to the top of the times on his opening run, though, with two swift improvements nudging him clear of Marquez, before increasing his advantage ever so slightly with another marginal gain midway through the session.

That changed in the final five minutes though as Cal Crutchlow became the first man to dip below the 1m30s barrier, the Briton posting a 1m29.579s in the first of a late flurry of laps.

Lorenzo soon regained the top spot with another personal best, but he was eventually beaten to the fastest lap of the weekend so far by his compatriot Marquez, who recorded a 1m29.383s.

Maverick Vinales set an impressive pace aboard his Suzuki to claim third in the session, while a late improvement from Andrea Iannone meant the Italian nabbed fourth ahead of erstwhile leader Crutchlow.

Dani Pedrosa was sixth, followed by Danilo Petrucci, while Bradley Smith, who spent much of the session in the lower half of the order, jumped up to eighth with his final lap.

Rossi appeared to struggle in the final sector and finished the session 0.658 seconds slower than Marquez in ninth, with Aleix Espargaro rounding out the top 10.

PRACTICE TWO TIMES:

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