09/17/2021 |
Christina Bulpett |
MotoGP
Image: GeeBee Pictures
Ducati Power dominated a wet afternoon at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli when Johann Zarco led the times with a 1: 42.456.
Aragon winner Pecco Bagnaia stayed away from teammate Jack Miller in the closing stages before the Pramac rider arrived, with Joan Mir completing the top four.
The afternoon training started when the morning got wet. A heavy shower hit just as FP2 was being prepared and soaking the track, but when the sun tried to shine almost immediately, the drivers set off with the slightest delay.
Iker Lecuona led the way as the wet session unfolded. KTM colleague Miguel Oliveira finished second from Bagnaia and two Suzukis with the second Tech3 in sixth before the Portuguese took over the overall standings.
Enea Bastianini was the first to succumb to the tricky conditions in turn one, Valentino Rossi continued to run in turn six when the KTM trio finished the first three after 10 minutes.
Marc Marquez was fighting for competition in the wet conditions as Lecuona returned to his dominant position.
Half an hour before the end, the Ducati duo were in charge, Miller led Bagnaia with a 1’44.814 before the group advanced. Zarco finished second ahead of Marquez and the KTMs, Alex Rins finished sixth, while Danilo Petrucci led Alex Marquez and Pol Espargaro on the edge of the top 10.
The new Petronas pairing Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso showed a strong performance in the wet in 11th and 13th respectively with Mir and then Fabio Quartararo in between. Espargaro improved to seventh place with 25 remaining, while his older brother circulated 21st at the bottom of the field. The second Aprilia began to make waves, however, as Maverick Viñales rose to 12th at halftime.
Back at the top it was Zarco’s Pramac, who beat the factory Ducatis for the honor in FP2 with a pace of 1: 43.0. The Repsol Hondas are in fourth and sixth, Oliveira in fifth place in between. Aleix Espargaro was next to gain confidence in the arid conditions as the Aprilia advanced and demoted his brother to sixth place. Lecuona, Rins and Rossi compete in the top 10 with 20 minutes to go.
The RS-GPs continued to climb as the session ended. Espargaro finished fourth, seven tenths behind Millers now 1’42.885 and just 0.004 seconds behind the third Ducati, while Viñales improved to ninth.
Lecuona’s impressive performance in the first corner at the beginning of the last 10 minutes was rewarded with a massive highside. The Spaniard came hard on his back but hobbled off the track as the session neared its end.
The Yamaha appeared to be in trouble if the wet weather persisted during the San Marino weekend. Rossi is at the top of the M1 in 12th place, Franky Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo are in 16th and 18th place with newcomer Dovizioso in 20th place. A delayed attack that found the championship leader in 14th place but was almost two seconds behind Ducati’s pace.
A similar situation appeared to exist for Suzuki with Mir and Rins finishing in 10th and 13th, respectively, while Petrucci showed them how to do it with the Tech3 machine from fourth place.
Bagnaia replaced his teammate with three to go. The Italian continued to improve next time when he increased the pace with a 1’42.657 before Pramacs Zarco came two tenths faster.
I finished fourth with the checkered flag flying and faced a late attack from Marquez, while Oliveira finished in a satisfactory sixth place. Petrucci and Lecuona finished the session within the top nine, with Espargaro tying the pair in eighth place.
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