MotoGP points leader Fabio Quartararo overcame some early grip issues in the second MotoGP free practice on Friday to claim top spot on the combined timesheets.
The Petronas Yamaha man slotted in a soft rear Michelin for his final time attack run to claim a provisional qualifying two spot and beat team-mate Franco Morbidelli by 0.00.7s with a 1’56.502 while Miguel Oliveira, also on a soft rear, took third place on his works KTM.
Track temperatures in the Czech Republic had crept up to 50 degrees by the time the MotoGP riders hit the asphalt for their second session, with grip levels proving to be tricky.
Quartararo was a frustrated figure for a lot of the afternoon session despite improving his FP1 time in the early stages. His usually smooth, on rails type style was nowhere to be seen as the Frenchman got his YZR-M1 bucking a weaving on more than one occasion – a very green surface wasn’t providing much grip.
Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) didn’t seem to be having many problems though as the Spaniard went top of the times in the second session having finished P2 in FP1, a smidgen adrift of pacesetter Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu).
However, the combined times in the top four were unchanged, it was only the Petronas Yamaha SRT duo who had improved to penetrate the top 10 in the first 20 minutes. But heading into the final 10 minutes, one of the satellite Yamaha riders was about to move the goalposts.
That man was Morbidelli. The Italian was out on fresh Michelin rubber and went over eight tenths clear on the combined times, which set off a chain reaction of riders suddenly going quicker than their FP1 times not too long after.
Oliveira went second to sit less than a tenth off Morbidelli with Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) – the Frenchman fourth fastest in FP1 – slotting into third. Plenty of riders went quicker inside the top 10 but with two minutes remaining, the championship leader was outside the provisional automatic Q2 places.
Quartararo rumbled out of pitlane on new tyres and with just the single lap to get the business done, El Diablo made no mistake. But his fastest time was only just quicker than his teammate, but that 0.007 was enough to ensure Quartararo leads the premier class field into Saturday’s action in Brno.
Oliveira and Zarco were the two standouts on the opening day – the Portuguese rider leaping from P17 to P3 in the afternoon – as the KTM and Ducati riders sit ahead of Viñales in fifth.
Mir was eventually shuffled down to P6 to end the day 0.374 from Quartararo, with Aleix Espargaro having a promising FP2 on board his Aprilia Racing Team Gresini to sit ahead of younger brother Pol Espargaro in 7th and 8th respectively.
Nakagami slipped to P9 after topping FP1, but the Japanese rider still claims a provisional automatic Q2 place ahead of Jack Miller. The Pramac Racing rider pushed Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) out in the latter stages.
Valentino Rossi has his two M1s set up differently: on the way he wants it and one the way Yamaha want it - and he Doctor's way is currently the faster of the two as he sits in 12th behind Brad Binder.
Injured Alex Rins is eigh-tenths off
