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Practice report

Jerez MotoGP: Lorenzo on top in FP2, Suzuki airs new wings

Ducati-bound Yamaha MotoGP star Jorge Lorenzo continued his strong start to the Spanish Grand Prix by leading the second free practice session at Jerez.

Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Aleix Espargaro, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing
Maverick Viñales, Team Suzuki MotoGP
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing
Tito Rabat, Marc VDS Racing Honda

Reigning champion Lorenzo topped the 45-minute FP2 session, ahead of Honda’s Marc Marquez by 0.345s.

Aleix Espargaro showed strong form for Suzuki, using anti-wheelie aero winglets to good effect to set the third-fastest time, ahead of FP1 star Hector Barbera’s Ducati and Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi.

Story of the session

After Lorenzo topped the morning session on 1m40.270s, Marquez quickly went under that on his second flying lap – 1m40.016s.

Lorenzo was back on 1m40.357s at the time, but improved to 1m40.005s. Marquez then dipped to 1m39.900s, the first sub-1m40s time of the weekend.

Rossi – unusually for him using winglets on his Yamaha – rose up to third early on with 1m40.282s, 0.382s off the pace and just 0.008s faster than this morning’s hero Barbera.

In the closing five minutes, Lorenzo improved to 1m39.957s, but stayed P2, as Barbera eclipsed Rossi’s time for third on 1m40.229s.

Using the medium-compound rear tyre, Lorenzo then grabbed the top spot with 1m39.555s with his second flyer of the final run, 0.345s clear of Marquez – who could not respond.

Suzuki shows strong hand

Suzuki gave a debut to its new aerodynamic winglets in this session, featuring a three-element setup on the front fairing.

Aleix Espargaro tested it, while Maverick Vinales busied himself with back-to-back running using the 2016 chassis and the ‘hybrid’ bike they’ve been using thus far.

Davide Brivio explained: “We were supposed to be testing them on Monday, but we couldn’t make Aleix wait. Wheelieing is really a problem here.”

Vinales suffered a huge wobble through the fast right-hand sweeper, but rose to fifth on his second run on 1m40.448s ahead of teammate Espargaro.

But Aleix jumped up to third on his final lap, a stunning 1m40.093s that was 0.538s off Lorenzo’s pace.

Vinales finished the session sixth, ahead of the first works Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso. The Pramac Duke of Scott Redding was eighth, ahead of the second works Honda of Dani Pedrosa and an impressive Eugene Laverty on his two-year-old Aspar Ducati.

Ducati’s Andrea Iannone struggling badly in the first part of the session – as data from winter testing here didn’t correlate to the race weekend. He ended up down in 11th.

Aprilia also handed a debut to aero winglets, with Stefan Bradl 15th quickest.

Loris Baz was a faller right at the end of the session at the final corner. He walked away unhurt.

Practice times:

PosRiderBikeTimeGap
1 SpainJorge Lorenzo  Yamaha YZR-M1 1:39.555  
2 SpainMarc Marquez  Honda RC213V 1:39.900 +0.345
3 SpainAleix Espargaro  Suzuki GSX-RR 1:40.093 +0.538
4 SpainHector Barbera  Ducati GP14 1:40.229 +0.674
5 ItalyValentino Rossi  Yamaha YZR-M1 1:40.282 +0.727
6 SpainMaverick Viñales  Suzuki GSX-RR 1:40.448 +0.893
7 ItalyAndrea Dovizioso  Ducati GP16 1:40.737 +1.182
8 United KingdomScott Redding  Ducati GP15 1:40.860 +1.305
9 SpainDani Pedrosa  Honda RC213V 1:40.925 +1.370
10 IrelandEugene Laverty  Ducati GP14 1:40.925 +1.370
11 ItalyAndrea Iannone  Ducati GP16 1:41.017 +1.462
12 ColombiaYonny Hernandez  Ducati GP14 1:41.028 +1.473
13 United KingdomCal Crutchlow  Honda RC213V 1:41.112 +1.557
14 SpainPol Espargaro  Yamaha YZR-M1 1:41.167 +1.612
15 GermanyStefan Bradl  Aprilia RS-GP 1:41.178 +1.623
16 United KingdomBradley Smith  Yamaha YZR-M1 1:41.287 +1.732
17 FranceLoris Baz  Ducati GP14 1:41.320 +1.765
18 SpainAlvaro Bautista  Aprilia RS-GP 1:41.573 +2.018
19 ItalyMichele Pirro  Ducati GP15 1:41.841 +2.286
20 AustraliaJack Miller  Honda RC213V 1:41.904 +2.349
21 SpainTito Rabat  Honda RC213V 1:42.230 +2.675

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