#AmericasGP MotoGP FP2: Vinales 1 – Márquez 1, Zarco 2nd!

This round of the MotoGP world championship is particularly interesting because after the domination of the Yamaha during the first two events, we expect a reaction from Marc Márquez on a circuit where he has never been defeated in the premier category.

To a lesser extent, we also expect the reaction of Jorge Lorenzo after a difficult race in Qatar and a fall in Argentina. Will the black cat give up Andrea Dovizioso is another topical question among the reds, just like the performance of a GP17 which is currently being mistreated by previous models.

At the official Yamaha level, Maverick Vinales displays unshakeable confidence and even declares that he can achieve the pass of three by winning this race, while Valentino Rossi will be keen to be solid from the first free practice sessions, contrary to usual.

In the Tech3 team, we will obviously closely follow the performances of the rookies John Zarco et Jonas Folger who will have to confirm their fine South American performance on Texan soil.

Also pay attention to Suzuki drivers, Andrea Iannone having revenge to take on the fate from Argentina and Alex Rins stretch showed particularly strong here in Moto2 last year.

This morning, Maverick Vinales confirmed his current level and beautifully dismissed Marc Marquez from his leadership on this circuit : will it be the same this afternoon?

Weather-wise, the rain perhaps seems to have abandoned the MotoGP weekends, but the conditions have become noticeably tougher with 29° in the air and 42° on the ground. This will perhaps force the drivers to increase the hardness of their tires but, despite a notable wind, everything seems to be in place for a great party, especially as we display a certain serenity at Michelin when approaching a circuit whose layout and abrasive coating were already mastered last season…

Here are the references available at the start of this second session of the weekend in the premier category, on a very bumpy track but nevertheless fast:

#AmericasGP MotoGP	2016	2017
FP1	2'04.953 Marc Marquez	2'04.923 Maverick Vinales
FP2	2'04.034 Marc Marquez
FP3	2'03.741 Marc Marquez
FP4	2'04.309 Marc Marquez
Q1	2'04.740 Bradley Smith
Q2	2'03.188 Marc Marquez
Warm Up	2'04.421 Andrea Iannone
Course	Marquez Lorenzo Iannone
All time lap record	2'02.135 Marc Marquez 2015

The session begins with the Suzuki GSX–RR of Alex Rins which explodes its engine from the first round.

Despite the air and track temperatures being a little high to achieve exceptional performances, we attack directly “in the tough” with the 2'05.004 of Marc Márquez during his third flying lap. The Honda driver continued his effort and achieved a 2'04.622 on the next pass, which is faster than Vinales' time this morning. Behind, the Yamaha rider is already 8 tenths behind, followed by the Hondas of Pedrosa and Miller.

Regarding the Tokyo machines, we note that the second Dani Pedrosa's motorcycle is equipped with a much shorter front cylinder exhaust than the now usual “stovepipe”.

The first run ends with the following top 10: Márquez, Vinales, Pedrosa, Miller, Iannone, Crutchlow, Bautista, Rossi, Zarco and Folger.

Upon resumption, Maverick Vinales (medium / medium) reduces its gap to 2 tenths while Dani Pedrosa still leads the peloton within a second of the leader. One more pass and the Yamaha rider achieves a 2'04.451 which puts him back at the top of the provisional hierarchy.

On the technical side, we observe Pol Espargaro on the handlebars of a KTM whose fairing has… fins! Finally, the officials certainly find a good explanation to justify this, but, for us, these are indeed fins, and not integrated inside a protective skin...
Pol Espargaro's chief mechanic confirms that this allows for increased acceleration when exiting corners.

The ranking barely changed during the second run and, before the final race, we found Vinales ahead of Márquez, Pedrosa, Crutchlow, Miller, Iannone, Bautista, Rossi, Zarco and Folger.

The remaining 10 minutes allow us to see Valentino Rossi sets off with a soft tire at the front while Loris Baz fall at turn #1, just like Karel Abraham at #11.

Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow close in on Marc Márquez, as does another Honda rider, Jack Miller

It was at this moment, two minutes before the checkered flag, that Johann Zarco places his attack and positions himself fourth, just 4 tenths from Maverick Vinales. Valentino Rossi does the same and then climbs onto the third step of the provisional podium.

There's one minute left and Marc Márquez lights the first partial in red while Johann Zarco further improves his time and temporarily takes first position. But Marc Márquez has now lit the first three partials in red and should take his property back, which he does a few seconds later.

Nevertheless, French enthusiasts are still glued to their screens watching the performance of the Tech3 driver, while Hervé Poncharal confides to Eurosport that his driver is not in the best physical shape…

Ranking compiled by our friends at crash.net:

1. ^1 Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 04.061s [Lap 14/14] 331km/h (Top Speed)
2. ^2 Johann Zarco ENG Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 2m 04.347s +0.286s [16/17] 331km/h
3. ˅2 Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 04.451s +0.390s [10/17] 331km/h
4. ^4 Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 04.806s +0.745s [15/17] 331km/h
5. ^2 Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 04.811s +0.750s [12/15] 332km/h
6. ˅3 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 2m 04.830s +0.769s [15/16] 334km/h
7. ^4 Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 2m 05.005s +0.944s [13/15] 328km/h
8. ^6 Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 2m 05.033s +0.972s [14/15] 332km/h
9. ^4 Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 2m 05.116s +1.055s [14/15] 333km/h
10. ^6 Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 2m 05.142s +1.081s [17/17] 327km/h
11. ˅5 Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 2m 05.282s +1.221s [14/15] 337km/h
12. ˅2 Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 2m 05.284s +1.223s [14/15] 333km/h
13. ˅1 Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 2m 05.463s +1.402s [12/15] 332km/h
14. ˅5 Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2m 05.468s +1.407s [14/14] 328km/h
15. = Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 2m 05.584s +1.523s [12/14] 338km/h
16. ˅11 Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 2m 05.602s +1.541s [15/17] 340km/h
17. = Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 2m 05.943s +1.882s [14/16] 330km/h
18. ^2 Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 2m 06.155s +2.094s [13/13] 330km/h
19. ˅1 Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 06.358s +2.297s [4/13] 327km/h
20. ^1 Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 2m 06.503s +2.442s [12/15] 330km/h
21. ˅2 Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 06.709s +2.648s [9/11] 328km/h
22. =Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 2m 06.741s +2.680s [12/13] 327km/h
23. =Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 2m 07.434s +3.373s [15/15] 327km/h