Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa stepped up to the plate on day two of MotoGP testing at Sepang on a track that has improved in conditions since yesterday as the teeny Spaniard was able to get down to the 2’00 lap marker with his final run and put three-tenths of daylight between himself and the increasingly impressive Aleix Espargaro.
Pedrosa lapped in 2’00.039 on his 55th of 57 laps while Espargaro, on the Forward FTR Yamaha, stuck his fast lap of 2’00.320 in right at the end as temperatures began to cool both on track and in ambient air.
Alvaro Bautista continued his work from yesterday to fend off a challenge from nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who is a little over half a second off the pace so still has work to do with the new Bridgestone tyres.
His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo continues to struggle with the new spec and is a very unhappy bunny in ninth and a full second slower than his Honda-mounted countryman in top spot.
Britain’s Cal Crutchlow has found some pace overnight, dropping his time to 2’00.952 but Andrea Dovizioso is still the quickest of the Ductatis in fifth, holding a two-tenth advantage over the little Coventryman, and riding the Open class GP14.
Bradley Smith rounded out the top ten but he is only less than a tenth slower than his team-mate Pol Espargaro, who sits in eighth place with a 2’01.027. Stefan Bradl is in sixth.
Colin Edwards leapfrogged Nicky Hayden in the battle of the Open class riders who aren’t Aleix Espargaro while Scott Redding sits in 17th after knocking the business end of a second off his time from yesterday.
