Austin MotoGP FP2 Andrea Iannone remembers everyone fondly!

As expected, FP1 saw the domination of Marc Márquez on a very dusty track which obviously does not yet seem up to the work carried out concerning the abrasion of the bumps in its surface.

Piero Taramasso, the Michelin MotoGP manager, summarized the situation as follows: “The track is very dirty, no grip and lots of bumps. It’s very difficult to evaluate the tires, the chassis, and everything.”

The consequences this morning were numerous losses of the front axle (fortunately recovered) and a time of Marc Marquez 6 tenths slower than that of Maverick Vinales Last year.

Behind the Honda driver, and this is a bit of a surprise because we know the man performs better in the race than in qualifying, we found a Valentino Rossi particularly sharp in front of his teammate who had not considered it useful to fit a soft rear tire for the final rush, while Johann zarco saw his session compromised by a clutch problem on the 2nd lap on his bike 1 and a piece of rubber stuck between a disc and a pad on his bike 2.

An ideal introduction for spectators of this unique American weekend, which thus leaves all the suspense!

This also remains present regarding Dani Pedrosa, injured and courageous, but having had to settle for, voluntarily or not, 21st time this morning despite wearing a special glove.

The rain being still expected for tomorrow morning, this second session risks proving crucial for selecting in advance the passengers directly in Q2: “gentlemen, start your engines!” »

This afternoon, the weather is still quite mild, with partly clear skies and temperatures of 21° in the air and 32° on the track.

Here are the references available at the start of this FP2:

As usual, Jorge Lorenzo is the quickest to rush off when the red lights go out.

Many drivers have abandoned the medium rear tire in favor of the soft: Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci, Karel Abraham, Álvaro Bautista, Maverick Vinales, Takaaki Nakagami, Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller, Pol Espargaro, Marc Márquez et Jorge Lorenzo. Conversely, Cal Crutchlow is the only rider to use a hard rear tire.

For the front, the vast majority stays on the medium tire and only Johann Zarco, Tom Luthi, Karel Abraham et Takaaki Nakagami opted for a soft one.

From his 3rd turn, Marc Márquez is 6 tenths off his best time this morning, showing that the track has been well cleaned and erased since FP1, especially as he is barely ahead Andrea Iannone et Esteve Rabat.

Two loops later, the Honda driver improved his morning time to 2'05.287 while Dani Pedrosa entered the top 10, in 3rd position.

At the end of the first run, Marc Marquez, Andrea Iannone, Dani Pedrosa, Cal Crutchlow, Valentino Rossi, Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Vinales, Esteve Rabat, Takaaki Nakagami et Hafiz Syahrin constitute the Top 10, while combined, we find Marquez, Iannone, Rossi, Pedrosa, Crutchlow, Vinales, Aleix Espargaro, Lorenzo, Rabat et Nakagami. For the time being, John Zarco Figure 15e, of the session and the combined.

For the second run, Marc Márquez had a hard rear tire fitted and achieved 2'04.963 before falling without gravity at turn 11, losing the front.

There's the limit 😮@marcmarquez93 asks a little too much of his front tire – but he's soon back up and away 🤜#AmericasGP pic.twitter.com/7QkvfzDrI8

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 20, 2018

Dani Pedrosa also left with a hard rear tire, thus homogenizing the tire configuration of the 3 official Hondas
2/3 of the session, Johann zarco (returned to Medium/Medium for the moment) reassures all its fans by positioning itself 3rd, one second behind Marc Márquez, while Espargaro Pol makes a minor mistake at turn 15.

Valentino Rossi masterfully catches up with a small kick from his Yamaha…

Eeekk!! 🙈

That was a close call for @ValeYellow46 😳#AmericasGP pic.twitter.com/6MuSPZEz4F

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) April 20, 2018

At this point in the session, Andrea Dovizioso appears in the 15th position of the handset and Jorge Lorenzo in 17th: the 2 official Ducati riders are not yet pre-qualified for Q2.

At the end of the second run, the hierarchy is in the form Marc Marquez, Andrea Iannone, Johann Zarco, Dani Pedrosa, Cal Crutchlow, Alex Rins, Valentino Rossi, Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Vinales et Esteve Rabat.

In the last 10 minutes, Jorge Lorenzo makes the powder speak and takes 2nd position, 1/2 second behind Marc Márquez while this one still gains a few thousandths in 2'04.951.

Cal Crutchlow then joins the debate, 1/10 behind the leader, but the Yamaha also react and, initially Maverick Vinales is positioned 3rd, just before Valentino Rossi does not take 2nd place.

Behind, we also improve and the 2 official Ducatis of Dovizioso et Petrucci enter the Top 10. alex rins does the same and comes out Johann zarco.

Takaaki Nakagami scored the 3rd fall of the day while at the last minute, Andrea Iannone takes provisional pole position ahead of Marc Márquez et Maverick Vinales.

Note the homogeneity of the provisional grid, with 3 manufacturers in the first 3 places and 5 in the Top 9.

Photo credit : MotoGP.com