San Marino Misano MotoGP FP2 Grand Prix: Ducati, Marquez and Rossi double in Q.2, but not Zarco…

For this Friday afternoon in Misano, eyes were as much on the track as on scanning a sky promised to come and play spoilsport by taking on bad clouds full of rain. A fear shared by both Valentino Rossi which Marc Marquez who are not guaranteed to find themselves directly in Q.2 given their performances before the lunch break. What will it be like at snack time?  

Before answering this question, here is a reminder of the facts in table…

 

Misano MotoGP™	2017	2018
FP1	1'33.556 Marc Marquez	1'32.608 Andrea Dovizioso
FP2	1'33.231 Danilo Petrucci
FP3	1'32.958 Marc Marquez
FP4	1'33.338 Andrea Dovizioso
Qualification 1	1'33.563 Alvaro Bautista
Qualification 2	1'32.439 Maverick Vinales
Warm Up	1'48.170 Marc Marquez
Course	Marquez, Petrucci, Dovizioso
All time lap record	1'31.868 Lorenzo 2016

 

A threatening sky, a temperature of 23° in the air and 32° on the track, it is clear that we must not waste time in jumping into the bath, before taking a shower... Marquez signs a 1'33.773 which positions him as leader of the session but not yet in the top 10. He then achieves a 1'32.537 which puts him in the lead for the day, Pirro also enters this famous top 10 that closes a zarco suddenly up against the wall.

Red is still sixteenth. Syahrin crash at turn 8. He is a distant 24th. After a quarter of an hour, Red passes third in the session, but he remains a pale fifteenth overall over the two exercises.

We note a Espargaro Pol penultimate of a Ponsson who is not yet in the right rhythm for his MotoGP debut. The KTM official who makes a courageous return on his RC16 nevertheless seems to be suffering martyrdom.

Redding fall at turn 4. He is 14th in this FP2 than his teammate Alex Espargaro lives in 23rd row! Nakagami falls at turn 15. He is seventh this afternoon, but sixteenth overall. A turn later, Miller also fits in the gravel trap. The Australian is already in Q.2 since this morning.

Less than ten minutes from the checkered flag, Petrucci goes third in the session but also and above all eighth overall. A moment out of the top 10, zarco reacts and takes the ninth absolute time and the fourth of the session. It is now at Pedrosa to find yourself outside of Q.2, as Morbidelli, while Miller is the one who is on borrowed time. And the Doctor is still stuck in fifteenth place…

Johann zarco goes below the 1'33 mark and his 1'32.985 gives him a little breathing room in the quest for an automatic entry into Q.2. A goal finally achieved by Red but with an absolute tenth place three minutes from finishing. But Kidneys blows his way. Everything has to be done again for the Yamaha official.

In 1'32.358, Lorenzo gives him a blow with the hammer which gives him the keys to the exercise. Iannone fall at turn 15. In a new effort, Red hang the eighth beat and it's zarco which goes tenth. Dovizioso slams a 1'32.198 which finishes a great Ducati job symbolized by the double.

Crutchlow, Vinales et Petrucci follow, as Kidneys, Red, Iannone et Morbidely. zarco is eleventh and therefore in Q.1, just like Pedrosa... Ponsson is only 6 seconds away from the best time...

San Marino Misano Grand Prix MotoGP FP2: Chronos

1	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	1'32.198
2	99	Jorge Lorenzo	Ducati	1'32.358	0.160	0.160
3	35	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	1'32.385	0.187	0.027
4	25	Maverick VIÑALES	Yamaha	1'32.411	0.213	0.026
5	93	Marc Márquez	Honda	1'32.537	0.339	0.126
6	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	1'32.722	0.524	0.185
7	42	Alex Rins	Suzuki	1'32.775	0.577	0.053
8	46	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	1'32.786	0.588	0.011
9	21	Frank MORBIDELLI	Honda	1'32.980	0.782	0.194
10	5	johann zarco	Yamaha	1'32.985	0.787	0.005
11	26	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	1'32.999	0.801	0.014
12	51	Michael PIRRO	Ducati	1'33.005	0.807	0.006
13	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Ducati	1'33.183	0.985	0.178
14	43	Jack Miller	Ducati	1'33.193	0.995	0.010
15	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	Honda	1'33.274	1.076	0.081
16	29	Andrea Iannone	Suzuki	1'33.423	1.225	0.149
17	45	Scott REDDING	Aprilia	1'33.517	1.319	0.094
18	41	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	1'33.654	1.456	0.137
19	6	Stefan BRADL	Honda	1'33.660	1.462	0.006
20	38	Bradley SMITH	KTM	1'33.815	1.617	0.155
21	17	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	1'33.878	1.680	0.063
22	10	Xavier SIMEON	Ducati	1'33.896	1.698	0.018
23	12	Thomas LUTHI	Honda	1'34.278	2.080	0.382
24	44	Pol Espargaró	KTM	1'34.461	2.263	0.183
25	55	Hafiz Syahrin	Yamaha	1'34.539	2.341	0.078
26	23	Christophe PONSSON	Ducati	1'38.154	5.956	3.615