.jpg)
Jorge Lorenzo edged out reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez by 0.003s for top spot in the second free practice session at Indianapolis and is now just outside the existing lap record set by the Repsol Honda man last year.
Lorenzo finished a devastatingly fast and consistent run with a 1’32.860 after Marquez had set a 1’32.863 to draw dead level with his Spanish compatriot a lap before. The pair pulled ahead of Andrea Dovizioso’s Ducati, who had grabbed top spot with a 1’33.155vusing the soft tyre with only four minutes left.
Marquez used a hard rear/medium front combination while Lorenzo spent his entire session with the red-banded hard compound front and rear, setting up for race distance and both are three-tenths quicker than the opposition.
Dovizioso’s works team-mate Andrea Iannone set a 1’33.166 for fourth place and is just 0.011s further back in fourth. The Italian’s lap was just 0.020s quicker than Cal Crutchlow who pulled back a load of pace compared to free practice one this morning to end a little over three-tenths off the pace.
Pol Espargaro, who has signed a one-year deal to remain on a Yamaha for 2016, set the sixth-fastest time of 1’33.362 but then promptly pinged himself over the highside of his satellite M1 at turn 14 but looks to have escaped with a solid winding. Dani Pedrosa slipped back to seventh place despite finding more than second over lunch and is just in front of Britain’s Scott Redding, who improved by a second and a half.
Bradley Smith showed some early pace on a medium front/hard rear combination and set a 1’33.474 for ninth place overall. He is one place in front of series leader Valentino Rossi who ended the day with a 1’33.572 and will be the last automatic entrant into qualifying two tomorrow should it rain for FP3 as it did on Tuesday and Wednesday at Indianapolis.
Eugene Laverty found more than half a second over lunch to end in 19th place, one ahead of Stefan Bradl.
