Submitted by David Emmett on
Dani Pedrosa has topped the second session of free practice for the MotoGP class at Brno, setting the final time in the second half of what would be an incident-filled FP2. Jorge Lorenzo - one of several crashers during the session, had taken an early lead in FP2, but had to cede the top spot to Pedrosa at the end, his session complicated by having to use his second bike. The two Spaniards were the only riders to crack into the 1'56s.
The Monster Tech 3 Yamaha duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow took 3rd and 4th respectively, Dovizioso fast all session, Crutchlow moving up into 4th with his final lap, ahead of an impressive Stefan Bradl on the LCR Honda. The factory Ducati is more comfortable at Brno than at Indianapolis, as witnessed by the 6th fastest time of Valentino Rossi, less than half a second off the pace of Pedrosa, and very close to Bradl and Crutchlow. Alvaro Bautista bagged 7th on the San Carlo Gresini Honda, finishing ahead of the second Factory Yamaha of Ben Spies, the Texan being another of the session's fallers. Aleix Espargaro bagged 9th, over two seconds off the pace of Pedrosa, but ahead of the two satellite Ducatis of Toni Elias and Karel Abraham.
The many crashes caused the session to be red-flagged for a short while, the FTR Kawasaki of Yonny Hernandez destroying a section of air fence, the second bike to do so in two sessions. But Hernandez was far from the only faller: In addition to Lorenzo and Spies, Alvaro Bautista went down in the uphill section of the circuit, while Aleix Espargaro also had a fall, toppling over in the gravel after running on at turn 1. Everyone walked away unhurt, most of the crashes coming from front end wash outs.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Diff Previous |
| 1 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 1'56.858 | ||
| 2 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | YAMAHA | 1'56.911 | 0.053 | 0.053 |
| 3 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | YAMAHA | 1'57.055 | 0.197 | 0.144 |
| 4 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | YAMAHA | 1'57.215 | 0.357 | 0.160 |
| 5 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | HONDA | 1'57.250 | 0.392 | 0.035 |
| 6 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | DUCATI | 1'57.315 | 0.457 | 0.065 |
| 7 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | HONDA | 1'57.573 | 0.715 | 0.258 |
| 8 | 11 | Ben SPIES | YAMAHA | 1'57.790 | 0.932 | 0.217 |
| 9 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | ART | 1'59.185 | 2.327 | 1.395 |
| 10 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | DUCATI | 1'59.228 | 2.370 | 0.043 |
| 11 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | DUCATI | 1'59.251 | 2.393 | 0.023 |
| 12 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | ART | 1'59.498 | 2.640 | 0.247 |
| 13 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | FTR | 1'59.833 | 2.975 | 0.335 |
| 14 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | BQR | 1'59.886 | 3.028 | 0.053 |
| 15 | 54 | Mattia PASINI | ART | 2'00.258 | 3.400 | 0.372 |
| 16 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | SUTER | 2'00.296 | 3.438 | 0.038 |
| 17 | 22 | Ivan SILVA | BQR | 2'00.773 | 3.915 | 0.477 |
| 18 | 77 | James ELLISON | ART | 2'01.137 | 4.279 | 0.364 |
| 19 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | IODA | 2'01.625 | 4.767 | 0.488 |
Comments
Hopefully Dani can score
Hopefully Dani can score another win and make this championship interesting. I'll be pulling for the under-alien for sure.
Completely Agree
Especially with Stoner not able to race, the best thing that could happen would be a win for Pedrosa. At least then it will still be a 2 rider run for the Championship. Not as good as 3 but much better than 1! Fingers crossed for the underdog Spaniard!
under-alien?
"Dani ... the under-alien" ... Aha ... An (true) expert has spoken.
Uh oh... seems like I hurt
Uh oh... seems like I hurt someone's feelings. Sorry for pointing out the obvious.
Sure
Obvious? Obvious is that for all of his years in MotoGP Dani has suffered injuries like Stoner this time. And he did not fall more then Lorenzo or Stoner.
So why he is under alien? Bones are not hard enough for alien? Stoner bones going under alien to?
LP
I think my comment was a lot
I think my comment was a lot more innocuous then what some people take it as.
When I say under-alien I meant it as a play on the term under-dog.
Under-dog, as in... given their history of racing results in previous seasons and the current point standings, Jorge Lorenzo is favored to beat Dani Pedrosa, therefore Dani is the under-dog (under-alien).
True
We (Dani fans) are little too sensitive when it comes to defend our hero.
Let's call this misunderstanding.
LP
No Mistakes Dani...
DP26 can not afford any type of mistakes from anywhere during the next 7 races! And that includes crashes/injuries! The entire Repsol squad has to perform in 'perfection' in order for Dani to win the 2012 title. Dani has to finish ahead of Jorge for the next 7 races unless Jorge gets an injury like Stoner or worse. This is Dani's best chance... a dogfight between him and Jorge only!
If you do the math, I believe
If you do the math, I believe Dani need only win 5 of the next 7 to take the title (if JL is the only other person taking either of the top 2 spots)...
Ummmm
Lorenzo is leading by 18 points. If Dani wins 5 times and Lorenzo is second... First place in race gives you 5 points advantage. So 5x5 is 25. 25-18 is 7. So after 5 wins from Dani and 5 second places from Lorenzo. Lead from Dani would be 7 points. With two races to go. If Lorenzo wins last two. He is the winner.
Sorry. You are both wrong.
Dani must win 6 races if Lorenzo is always 2.
LP
I don't believe
I don't believe Jorge can continue at this pace until the end of the season. Dani's form improving at the right time.
Or...
Lorenzo is missing that one engine. That could come into play vitally come the end of the season. Missing Practice sessions may seem ok, but it is really not. He will end up on the back foot if it did happen.