Ecstar Suzuki’s Alex Rins got the Friday feeling at Sepang’s MotoGP round after grabbing top spot on the combined timesheets just 24 hours after the bike he used caught fire in the pitlane.
Rins went out with a few minutes left on the clock in Malaysia, sporting medium/soft Michelins on his GSX-RR, and set a 1’59.608 which edged out Andrea Dovizioso by less than a tenth with Marc Marquez third despite four massive front-end moments in the session.
Marquez on the edge again
It was bad news for Ducati’s Jorge Lorenzo as the former champion could only muster a 2’03.204 in session one and was then more than a second slower in free practice two, ending the day dead last and 1.2s down on Jordi Torres.
It looks unlikely he will take any further part in the weekend’s activities and test rider Michele Pirro will more than likely suit up tomorrow.
Rins had no such woes as he topped a Friday for the first time, working methodically with the same medium front/soft rear combination with which he ended FP1 and able to set consistent 2’00s laps before switching to a new rubber for the time attack.
Dovizioso was half a second off his best time from FP1 but didn’t put in new tyres to go for a new time, preferring to work with a medium/soft Michelin combination and he was only outside the 2’00s bracket once in eight flying laps.
Marquez went about the same sort of business as the Ducati man, preferring a hard/soft setup but three front-end losses will have him thinking about his choices. He did also have another moment on the medium front after posting his best time of the day, a 1’59.701 to go third.
Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi was another non-improver, with his FP1 time of 1’59.717 enough for fourth on the combined sheet. The Doctor’s pace on preferred mediums all round is a little down on Marquez and Dovizioso but he is in contention.
Jack Miller rode his Pramac Ducati to fifth place, using a medium/soft for a one-lap time attack lap while Phillip Island winner Maverick Vinales dropped a tenth off his FP1 time to set a 1’59.802 for sixth overall.
Vinales also went for a medium/medium combination to assess race pace and looks to be on the same pace as Marquez and Dovizioso, just ahead of Rossi.
Danilo Petrucci bagged seventh place with Johann Zarco, fined €1000 by the scooter police this morning, in eighth. Andrea Iannone was ninth with Aleix Espargaro’s time from this morning good enough for tenth and an automatic Q2 place on the Aprilia should it rain in FP3.
Dani Pedrosa, Alvaro Bautista, Taka Nakagami, Franco Morbidelli, and Pol Espargaro completed the top 15 with Britain’s Bradley Smith 16th. Scott Redding took a tumble late in the session, going down at turn five, and ended in 20th.
