2013 Mugello MotoGP FP2 Result: Lorenzo Edges Rossi As Marquez Suffers Big Crash

By David Emmett | Fri, 31/05/2013 - 13:00

The factory Yamaha riders have redeemed themselves after a difficult morning at Mugello, taking a one-two in the afternoon session of practice for the MotoGP session. Valentino Rossi looked back to his old form, leading for nearly all of the session, before Jorge Lorenzo challenged him for top position at the end. Lorenzo just ended the session ahead of his teammate, just a few thousandths of a second faster than Rossi. Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow took 3rd, making it a clean sweep for the Yamahas.

It was a strong showing for Ducati as well. Nicky Hayden took 4th, ending fractionally ahead of Dani Pedrosa, while Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso took 6th and 7th. Stefan Bradl ended the day in 8th on the LCR Honda, while Randy de Puniet put in an impressive lap to grab 9th, ahead of Michele Pirro.

The session was marred by two big crashes, the most serious of which was one for Marc Marquez. The Repsol Honda rookie appeared to drift just a fraction too far to the left as he started braking for the San Donato hairpin, touching the grass and falling at high speed - the riders are doing well over 200 km/h at that point on the track, as they brake for the first turn after Mugello's massive front straight. He was dragged along by his bike very close to the retaining wall, which is right at the side of the track at that point, before hitting the gravel trap. He was taken to the medical center, where an initial examination failed to find any serious injury. Marquez had a badly banged up chin, and a neck strain from the force of the impact, but all of his limbs were intact.

Bradley Smith suffered an unpleasant fall, being forced along the track in front of the sliding bike, until he hit the gravel trap. He too was taken to the medical center, where he was treated for an unspecified left arm injury. No full report on either Marquez or Smith has been released, but any news will be reported as quickly as possible.

Results:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1'48.375    
2 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1'48.409 0.034 0.034
3 35 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 1'48.672 0.297 0.263
4 69 Nicky Hayden Ducati 1'49.377 1.002 0.705
5 26 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1'49.383 1.008 0.006
6 29 Andrea Iannone Ducati 1'49.467 1.092 0.084
7 4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1'49.543 1.168 0.076
8 6 Stefan Bradl Honda 1'49.595 1.220 0.052
9 14 Randy de Puniet Aprilia ART 1'49.599 1.224 0.004
10 51 Michele Pirro Ducati 1'49.649 1.274 0.050
11 19 Alvaro Bautista Honda 1'49.733 1.358 0.084
12 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia ART 1'49.769 1.394 0.036
13 38 Bradley Smith Yamaha 1'50.103 1.728 0.334
14 93 Marc Marquez Honda 1'50.210 1.835 0.107
15 8 Hector Barbera FTR Kawasaki 1'50.400 2.025 0.190
16 11 Ben Spies Ducati 1'51.105 2.730 0.705
17 5 Colin Edwards FTR Kawasaki 1'51.433 3.058 0.328
18 17 Karel Abraham Aprilia ART 1'51.528 3.153 0.095
19 68 Yonny Hernandez Aprilia ART 1'51.644 3.269 0.116
20 9 Danilo Petrucci Suter BMW 1'51.937 3.562 0.293
21 7 Hiroshi Aoyama FTR Kawasaki 1'52.182 3.807 0.245
22 71 Claudio Corti FTR Kawasaki 1'53.314 4.939 1.132
23 70 Michael Laverty PBM 1'53.480 5.105 0.166
24 67 Bryan Staring FTR Honda 1'54.231 5.856 0.751
25 52 Lukas Pesek Suter BMW 1'54.829 6.454 0.598

 

2013
5
MotoGP
Mugello, Italy
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Comments

I doubt it! Crashes have never put him off before.

Good to see Rossi going well, but I fear for qualifying as the downfall again. It would be good to see another rider in the mix this time, other than the obvious (so far) three.

Not surprised at Lorenzo being fast and good to see Cal there too. Crashes don't put him off either.

You may both be right. But it looked very scary. It was the fastest crash since 2004. And Lorenzo got scared enough back in 2008 from these kind of things. Maybe a scare is a good thing, without necessarily slowing him down. Just a reminder, in case he needs one, that we're talking big bikes, great circuits, huge ambitions and very young ages. Alright, quite a bit of talent as well.

Anyway, glad he's alright. News for Smith are also better now. Looks like they'll both race on Sunday!

That is good news. I haven't seen the crashes so I may revise my view, most crashes make me whince.

And I agree, a little (or not so little) reminder not a bad thing at all. Their perception of risk has to be totally different from normal people to do what they do and that's why we watch 'em!

Looking froward to the race.

That was the circuit announcers saying that. Ian just tweeted it. Appears Smith has lost a bit of skin on his little finger. Will need a skin graft on Monday but he'll be out tomorrow. GOOD NEWS!! That was a hard impact.

Haven't yet watched this session but after reading this report I can't help remember Shinya Nakano's crash when his rear tire gave up going down the front straight. He too walked away without any surprising injury and that was on the big 990 kawasaki. Ill have to wait a bit but to me so far his was the most spectacular crash I have seen I think in Mugello. Does Marquez's crash compare?

Impressive lap time on such a fast track by De Puniet on the Aprilia! He must be doing pretty well in the fast flowing sections. Seeing Espargaro mix it with the satellite Ducs and Yamaha at Jerez, that V4 seemed to be handling very well already in Aleix's hands (and making serious speed on the short straights as well). I wonder if the Suzuki test ride gave De Puniet some set-up clues...

I hope this crash will not have effect on Marquez speed and I hope that he will come back even stronger. MotoGP needs a rider like him. Kudos to him for exceptional courage and determination! Go Marc!

Sorry to hear about Bradley Smith. Hope that he will be up to speed and that he will have a good race! Go Brad!

Is not a matter to be treated in a jocular manner. Contact sports are now (finally) taking it seriously and checking players thoroughly after a head knock. Any doubt and they are spelled. Marquez suffered a biggie at the end of 2011 and had to rest thoroughly. Wonder if he was checked over really thoroughly in the medical centre at Mugello?

As the track dried, the lap times tumbled with Lorenzo and Rossi about 0.7 off Pedrosa's lap record. Pretty good considering the conditions in the morning. Clearly Dani will be up to speed too - but I hear the forecast for Saturday morning is showers...

The Ducati riders are pushing hard but it will be surprising if they are that far up the field by the end of qualifying, presuming it is dry for that. But any improvement from them will be welcomed by fans everywhere.

I figured he would crash at Mugello. I am glad to hear that he is ok, though. And while his confidence might be a little shaken going into that first hairpin, I find it likely that he is too young to give it any serious thought.

It's going to take a nasty highside (ala Lorenzo) to jerk his noggin a little bit.

He knows exactly what happened. Said he came over the crest and grabbed the brakes. Locked the front. I imagine that he'll be flat out tomorrow if he's given the OK to ride. He'll probably just move his braking marker a few meters. Knowing what happened is a big part in the confidence you have getting back in the bike. It's when you don't know and thought you did everything the same as before when it's tougher. I think he'll be fine. Just hope he's fit to ride. That was a big big crash.