With the track in Barcelona still running in a bit since the FP1 session this morning, the opening phases of FP2 were pretty hectic as several drivers set the times at the top.
Tech 3 rider Iker Lecuona – whose MotoGP future beyond 2021 seems dubious – set the starting pace on his KTM with 1: 40.860 minutes, which world champion Joan Mir on the Suzuki immediately surpassed to 1: 40.342 minutes.
After finishing third fastest in FP1, Pol Espargaro picked up where he left off at the beginning of FP2 and took a lead of 1: 40.146 minutes on the factory Honda ahead of Mir.
Team mate Marc Marquez made a short detour to the top of the overall standings with 1: 30.120 minutes before world champion Fabio Quartararo took over the session with 1: 40.006 minutes after 10 minutes.
Moments later, his Yamaha counterpart Morbidelli – who worked with the hard rear tire – drove under 1:40 minutes for the first time on Friday with a 1: 39.909 on his “A-spec” M1 operated by Petronas SRT.
Morbidelli’s time remained unchallenged until the final phase, as a time of race preparation stopped all major changes to the time table.
The SRT rider’s lap was finally overturned just over a minute before the end when Brad Binder – who has secured his KTM future until the end of 2024 – went clean with 1: 39.662 minutes.
Binder was soon overtaken by Zarco with 1: 39.446 minutes before Morbidelli took the lead again with 1: 39.256 minutes.
But finishing the session as the fastest would not be enough, as Zarco took 0.021 seconds to the lead on his final lap and took the lead with 1: 39.235 minutes.
Behind Zarco and Morbidelli followed Quartararo on the Yamaha works team, with Binder fourth at the checkered flag in front of Ducati works team rider Francesco Bagnaia.
Maverick Vinales completed the top 6 on his factory Yamaha ahead of Jack Miller’s factory Ducati and an impressive Avintia rookie Enea Bastianini on a two-year-old Desmosedici.
FP1 pacesetter Aleix Espargaro finished ninth on the Aprilia ahead of Pol Espargaro’s leading Honda in 10th place.
Marc Marquez slipped to 15th place in the order behind KTM rider Miguel Oliveira, who was even third in the closing stages.
I flew under the radar on the only Suzuki in 16th place this weekend, while Valentino Rossi’s fight continued on his SRT Yamaha when he was 1.6 seconds off pace in 19th place, ahead of the only Aprilia rookie Lorenzo Savadori and the returning Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati.
While several riders ran off the track in the revised left-hand bend at Turn 10, Luca Marini on the Avintia Ducati was the only crash in the session at Turn 4.