Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo has started the Sepang MotoGP weekend as well as he possibly could, topping the Friday practice timesheets but he was pushed hard all the way by the Repsol Hondas of Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.
Lorenzo’s second session time of 2’00.246 was enough to secure top spot by just 0.046s from Pedrosa while Marquez was a little under a quarter of a second off with a 2’00.472 with the top three all setting their best time on medium rubber front and rear.
Point leader Valentino Rossi, however, spent the whole of second practice on a hard/hard combination and was still able to put in a 2’01.305 which was fast enough for eighth. He did switch to mediums right at the end, did one exit but returned to pitlane with a problem. His time from the first session - a 2’00.915 - put him fifth for the day.
Fellow Italian Andrea Iannone picked himself up from a crash at turn eight early doors to register a 2’00.486 for fourth place while Cal Crutchlow stormed into sixth with his final fast lap of the day, a 2’01.039.
Aleix Espargaro ended in seventh, one ahead of Andrea Dovizioso while Scott Redding provisionally booked a qualifying two place with his lap from free practice one. Danilo Petrucci completes the combined top ten times.
Bradley Smith is struggling down in 14th place and is only three-tenths quicker than Eugene Laverty, who ended top Open class rider in 16th place.
