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Dovizioso clear at the top as Marquez escapes light crash unhurt
The MotoGPâ„¢ FP2 session at Motegi saw Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) set the standard on the first day of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, with Jorge Lorenzo and Stefan Bradl also amongst the leading trio.
On an extra soft rear tyre Dovizioso set the best time of the day towards the end of FP2 with a 1'45.140 lap of the Japanese circuit, which put him 0.440s ahead of the second best rider Lorenzo.
In FP1 Lorenzo led the way and although he improved in the afternoon he could not patch the pace of Dovizioso, with the Italian taking full advantage of the softer rubber. Third in FP2 was Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) with a similar time to Lorenzo's, 0.497s adrift of P1.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) survived a big moment in FP1 when he produced a remarkable stoppie at turn 11, as he hit the brakes going into the corner. He ended the day fourth best, just in front of Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP).
The overall Friday top ten was completed by Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) and Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing)
Marquez was unhurt in a crash early in FP1 as he could not brake in time at turn 5, meaning his title shot weekend got off to a tricky start. He will look to move up the timesheets on Saturday.
Local rider Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar) suffered a crash in the final minutes of the FP2 session, able to walk away with minimal damage to the bike. Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) also suffered a small off, but was able to remount and return to the pits. Both riders were unhurt.
Moto2â„¢: Opening day in Far East concludes with dominant Rabat in front
In Moto2™ FP2 at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, the quickest three riders were Tito Rabat, Johann Zarco and Maverick Viñales.
Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) leads the Moto2â„¢ World Championship standings by 33 points and he was dominant in the afternoon practice, showing good rhythm and setting the fastest lap by a 0.323s margin over Frenchman Zarco (AirAsia Caterham).
Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) was third fastest but could not get within half a second of Rabat's best time, trailing his compatriot by 0.583s.
Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) and Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team) were fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Sitag) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) who were sixth and seventh, all within a second of Rabat's best time.
Axel Pons (AGR Team), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) completed the top ten.
Wildcard Chalermpol Polamai (Singha Eneos Yamaha Tech 3) suffered a crash early in the session, as did Simon. Yuki Takahashi (Moriwaki Racing) fell with just ten minutes remaining, whilst Ratthapark Wilairot (AirAsia Caterham) crashed on his last lap. All the riders were unhurt.
Moto3â„¢: Record pace sees Kent lead the way in Motegi practices
As Friday's Moto3â„¢ activity concluded at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) was ahead of the pack in FP2, with Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveira also towards the top of the timesheet.
Briton Kent, who won the 2012 Moto3 race in Japan, was the fastest rider in both Friday sessions, setting a rapid pace at Motegi. His 1'57.317 best lap of the day is a new record for the circuit wiping more than a second off his own previous record from two years ago – which was the lap that had given Kent pole for the 2012 race.
Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) trailed Kent by 0.058s and 0.101s respectively in second and third. The top five was completed by Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3).
In perfect riding conditions, which contrasted with last years disruptively wet and misty weather on day one in Japan, all the riders remained upright in FP2, the majority improving their times over FP1.
Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN), Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team), Efren Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG) and Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team) rounded out the top ten.
