Teruel MotoGP: Nakagami fastest in FP2, Ducatis struggle
LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami led Maverick Vinales in second practice for the MotoGP Teruel Grand Prix as the factory Ducatis endured a tough session.


Andrea Dovizioso is just 15 points from the championship lead but his Aragon woes continue after he ended FP2 on Friday 1.4 seconds off the pace in 18th.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro set the early pace with a 1m50.147s, though Franco Morbidelli bettered this immediately on his Petronas SRT Yamaha with a 1m49.270s.
Aragon GP race winner Alex Rins edged ahead with a 1m49.111s on the Suzuki, before Morbidelli returned to the top of the pack with a 1m48.612s.
With just over half an hour of the session still to run, Nakagami on the LCR Honda comfortably moved clear of the field with a 1m48.354s.
KTM’s Pol Espargaro would close down the Japanese rider’s advantage to 0.085 seconds midway through the session, but Nakagami’s time remained intact until the closing stages as most focused on longer runs.
A number of riders played around with the new Ohlins shock absorber Honda and Suzuki have been using to good effect recently, with both SRT M1’s of Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo among those looking at the suspension item.
Improvements on the time sheets flooded in as the session entered its closings stages, with championship leader Joan Mir taking over top spot on the Suzuki with a 1m48.182s.
Nakagami was soon lighting up the timing screens and produced a 1m47.931s to depose Mir, before improving to a 1m47.782s to end Friday fastest of all.
Maverick Vinales made a late improvement to second on the works team Yamaha with a 1m47.957s to split up the LCR Hondas, with Cal Crutchlow rounding out the top three.
Quartararo was fourth ahead of Mir, with Rins rounding out the top six ahead of an impressive showing from Tech 3 KTM rookie Iker Lecuona.
Aleix Espargaro led his KTM-mounted brother Pol in eighth – who didn’t run a fresh soft rear at the end of the session - while Alex Marquez took the last provisional Q2 place in 10th.
That came at the expense of Honda teammate Stefan Bradl, who was denied a place in the top 10 by 0.001s.
Morbidelli was shuffled down to 15th after his earlier assaults on the top of the timesheets.
Top Ducati runner was Johann Zarco in 13th on the year-old Avintia-run bike, with Danilo Petrucci the leading GP20 runner in 17th ahead of Dovizioso and Pramac’s Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed at the first corner at the end of the session.
This forced teammate Jack Miller’s last lap to be cancelled, dropping him to 21st and last.
FP2 results:
Cla | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'47.782 | |
2 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'47.957 | 0.175 |
3 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'48.111 | 0.329 |
4 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'48.164 | 0.382 |
5 | | ![]() | Suzuki | 1'48.182 | 0.400 |
6 | | ![]() | Suzuki | 1'48.190 | 0.408 |
7 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'48.360 | 0.578 |
8 | | ![]() | Aprilia | 1'48.426 | 0.644 |
9 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'48.439 | 0.657 |
10 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'48.443 | 0.661 |
11 | | ![]() | Honda | 1'48.444 | 0.662 |
12 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'48.527 | 0.745 |
13 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'48.532 | 0.750 |
14 | | ![]() | KTM | 1'48.545 | 0.763 |
15 | | ![]() | Yamaha | 1'48.612 | 0.830 |
16 | | ![]() | Aprilia | 1'48.810 | 1.028 |
17 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'48.870 | 1.088 |
18 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'49.240 | 1.458 |
19 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'49.319 | 1.537 |
20 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'49.733 | 1.951 |
21 | | ![]() | Ducati | 1'48.983 | 1.201 |
View full results |
Related video

Michelin explains Quartararo’s Aragon GP tyre issue
Mir admits he's “really surprised” by Honda’s pace in Aragon

Latest news
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made
How ‘Beast’ mode is putting Ducati in 2022 MotoGP title contention
Enea Bastianini’s second win of the 2022 campaign at COTA puts him back in the lead of the standings and once again showed the best Ducati package is still the 2021 bike. Those closest to Bastianini tell Motorsport.com why he’s so good on the GP21 relative to his factory counterparts.
How Espargaro helped Aprilia shed MotoGP's underdog tag
Aleix Espargaro became MotoGP's newest winner in a thrilling Argentina Grand Prix in which he also proved the merits of the Aprilia project. After six years of hard graft, both parties have reaped the rewards they have long thought they deserved. But it was several key moments in that journey that led both to that momentous Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.