Submitted by Zara Daniela on
Fully aware of the unusual importance of FP2 given the high temperatures expected on Saturday afternoon, the premier class had a good few goes at a time attack to secure a top ten position. After going under the radar throughout the day, Jack Miller arrived under the spotlight with a massive rodeo ride at turn 14 but then he buckled up and headed to the top of the timesheets with two minutes remaining, ending the day three tenths of a second faster than Pecco Bagnaia.
Johann Zarco also shone quite late into the session and narrowly avoided yellow flags to make it an all-Ducati top three on the combined standings. Fabio Quartararo snuck amongst the red machines as the leading Yamaha in fourth, ahead of Jorge Martin, the rookie continuing to impress at the top end of the timesheets. FP1 leader Aleix Espargaro briefly led proceedings in FP2 as well, before dropping down to a solid sixth position, ahead of Franco Morbidelli, who avoided any further issues after repeatedly smoking it up in FP1.
Alex Rins in eighth position was only half a second off top spot, ahead of QatarGP victor Maverick Vinales. Stefan Bradl rounded out the top ten positions and is most likely to be the only Honda featured directly in Q2. Both Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez showed good speed but saw the gravel trap before the checkered flag, dropping down to 15th and 16th on the timesheets. Joan Mir had a less eventful evening but the reigning world champion entered the final time attack late and his one flying lap was one tenth short of what he needed to achieve to join the provisional Q2 lineup. The Suzuki man finished the day 13th and barring a surprise turn of events in FP3, he might take another unplanned trip through Q1.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'53.145 | ||
| 2 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 1'53.458 | 0.313 | 0.313 |
| 3 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati | 1'53.537 | 0.392 | 0.079 |
| 4 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1'53.583 | 0.438 | 0.046 |
| 5 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Ducati | 1'53.593 | 0.448 | 0.010 |
| 6 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'53.646 | 0.501 | 0.053 |
| 7 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | 1'53.699 | 0.554 | 0.053 |
| 8 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'53.713 | 0.568 | 0.014 |
| 9 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | 1'53.872 | 0.727 | 0.159 |
| 10 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | Honda | 1'53.914 | 0.769 | 0.042 |
| 11 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM | 1'53.944 | 0.799 | 0.030 |
| 12 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | KTM | 1'53.969 | 0.824 | 0.025 |
| 13 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | 1'54.012 | 0.867 | 0.043 |
| 14 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1'54.112 | 0.967 | 0.100 |
| 15 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | 1'54.127 | 0.982 | 0.015 |
| 16 | 73 | Alex Marquez | Honda | 1'54.148 | 1.003 | 0.021 |
| 17 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Honda | 1'54.205 | 1.060 | 0.057 |
| 18 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM | 1'54.237 | 1.092 | 0.032 |
| 19 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati | 1'54.516 | 1.371 | 0.279 |
| 20 | 10 | Luca Marini | Ducati | 1'54.680 | 1.535 | 0.164 |
| 21 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | 1'54.971 | 1.826 | 0.291 |
| 22 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | KTM | 1'55.369 | 2.224 | 0.398 |
Comments
Aprilia is must be crying
Having one rider consistently at the tail end of the time sheets. They need Dovi. After investing all that money and resources to develop a competitive MotoGP bike they need to buy a good rider to extract the performance.
Rookie
He's a rookie 1.3 seconds slower than his team mate. Lecuona in a similar position. Doesn't take much to be near the bottom here, top 15 within 1 second (top 18 still within 1.1). At least give the lad half a chance to improve. 2 races maybe? Talking of rookies....Martin !
Rookie
Rookie Savadori turns 28 this Easter Sunday, and his best series finish in three years of WSBK was 10th. I would take a factory gp ride also if it was offered but, like me, he doesn't deserve it.
I'm getting softer with age maybe
I'm also absolutely certain about the situation, especially in relation to Dovi. I also have my opinions about how Lorenzo will do throughout the year. I also think he should at least have the chance to prove me wrong, a chance lasting more than 1 race.