08/06/2021 |
Christina Bulpett |
MotoGP
Image: GeeBee Pictures
Aprilias Lorenzo Savadori showed his championship in rainy weather this afternoon in Spielberg and surpassed the Styrian FP2 of MotoGP with a 1: 31.304 from Pramacs Johann Zarco.
Suzuki rider Joan Mir continued his strong performance in third on Friday as Pecco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro joined the top five.
The rain set in as the FP2 flared up at the Red Bull Ring, a cautious start to find Iker Lecuona at turn one as the pack began to exit the pit lane. The Spaniard quickly regained his Tech3 machine and continued to set the times throughout the session. His sixth lap recorded a 1: 34.319 before Marc Marquez took over by nine tenths of a second.
After the first 15 minutes, Danillo Petrucci was in third place behind his teammate, Jack Miller and Alex Marquez were in fourth and fifth, before Brad Binder arrived and got stuck at the back of the KTM train.
Miller finished his Desmosedici improving the times to third and Pol Espargaro joined his Repsol captain at the top of the times shortly afterwards. Alex Rins circulated in seventh place behind the KTM trio, with Jorge Martin, Bagnaia and Zarco securing the top 10 for Ducati at halftime.
The pace increased as the track began to dry out. Marquez pushed the Honda with a 1’32.841 on his eleventh attempt, while Lecuona also improved, just three-tenths behind. Luca Marini joined the more experienced Ducati riders in the top 10 in eighth, while his older brother, Valentino Rossi, rode in 14th place as the top Yamaha on board the Petronas machine. Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales and Cal Crutchlow are in 19th, 21st and 22nd place with 20 minutes to go.
Back at the top, Mir found his groove under the difficult conditions and took third place ahead of Espargaro, before Zarco further demoted the second Repsol. Savadori caused another surprise at the top of the times when the Aprilia came in second. The Italian improved the next time with an additional personal best, while his team-mate failed in 20th place.
In the last eight minutes Viñales improved to 10th place when the Ducati picked up. Zarco led the times with a 1’32.807, Bagnaia followed Miller in seventh and eighth when the timing screens burned red. First Lecuona, then Bagnaia increased the pace before it was Savadori’s turn to beat the time in 1’31.304, albeit almost eight seconds slower than the morning’s fastest time.
I was next to rise, finishing second, less than two minutes behind, when Viñales Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and the two Avintia machines led the top-10 in the second half. The second Aprilia wanted to join his rookie teammate as he improved to third place. Rins finished sixth ahead of Alex Marquez and Lecuona, while Viñales and the older Marquez finished the session in ninth and tenth.
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