2013 Laguna Seca MotoGP FP2 Result: Marquez Heats Up Along With the Weather

Marc Marquez continued showing why he is the exception, not the rule. For FP2, the championship points leader was fastest in only his second practice at the Laguna Seca circuit in Central California with a time of 1’22.040.

Stephan Bradl continued a strong recent run with a second in qualifying and Andrea Dovizioso put his factory Ducati in a surprising third place.  Valetino Rossi couldn’t turn his consistently fast laps into a front-row time and he settled into fourth place.

Cal Crutchlow, who led the morning session when conditions were cool and damp, was relegated to fifth place.  Jorge Lorenzo, one week removed from his second collarbone surgery this season, managed sixth fastest. And Dani Pedrosa, second in the championship race and also nursing collarbone and shoulder injuries, put his Repsol Honda into 11^th place.  Both riders initially had said they didn’t plan to ride at Laguna Seca.

Race officials red-flagged the session briefly after Blake Young highsided is Attack Performance Racing bike at Turn 5. Young was fine.

The riders pushed extra hard during FP2 because Saturday’s FP3 – a morning practice – is expected to be cool and damp as is typical at this coastal track. FP3 typically goes a long way toward setting determining the rosters for Q1 and Q2 but the times are trumped by faster FP2 times.

Results: