Marquez tops all Honda top three in Argentina MotoGP FP2
Marc Marquez led a damp second Grand Prix of Argentina practice session, the reigning MotoGP champion posting a 1m 39.395s lap of the 2.986 mile Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
The rain began to fall around 5 minutes into the 45 minute session, with most riders out on circuit choosing to abort their laps and head into the pits. Track activity remained quiet until the track conditions improved with around 20 minutes left on the clock.
A flurry of improvements then came as the riders flocked back out to make the most of the ever improving circuit. Marquez banged in his stunning lap, over four tenths quicker than anyone, with four and a half minutes remaining.
Cal Crutchlow once again made it a Honda 1-2 as he replicated his second place from FP1, while Tito Rabat impressed by finishing the session third fastest for Avintia.
Andrea Iannone backed up his strong first practice pace by ending the session fourth, while Dani Pedrosa made it three Honda’s in the top five, albeit over a second behind his session leading team-mate.
Maverick Vinales had a more encouraging session this time by finishing up sixth ahead of his team-mate Valentino Rossi, while Alex Rins ensured both Suzuki’s ended FP2 in the top ten.
Angel Nieto’s Alvaro Bautista and the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro capped off the top ten runners in the session.
Notably far down the time sheets were the factory Ducati GP-18’s, with Danilo Petrucci the highest in 13th place on his Pramac run machine. Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso could only manage 17th and 24th respectively.
Jack Miller had a close call on his final flying lap as he ran through the gravel on the outside of turn three. The Aussie managed to keep his Ducati upright however, and his previous best lap was enough to keep him 12th fastest.