2017 Assen MotoGP FP2 Result: Viñales Gets One Back On Marquez

The drops of rain fallen towards the end of Moto3 practice encouraged the riders to go out as soon as the light turned green at the end of pitlane. Despite a heavy fall in the morning, Jonas Folger was the one to lead the early part of the session, before a quick shower hit the track. A handful of minutes later, the wind dissipated any trace of water on the circuit and the riders got back to work.

Maverick Viñales was quick to prove his worth and go top in the final fifteen minutes, on the harder rear tyre. Marc Marquez was also eager to put in a good lap and place himself into the combined top ten, the Spaniard improving on his fourth lap, then giving the hard tyre combination a quick test.

Viñales and Marquez went on to give us a quick teaser for their much-awaited battle, although it was just a remote exchange of top honours in the final five minutes. That particular fight went to the championship leader, the Yamaha man finding a lot of time to lead by over three tenths of a second.

Folger split the Spanish duo eventually, placing his Tech 3 Yamaha nearly three tenths ahead of the world champion.

Andrea Dovizioso had a much calmer FP2 compared to his morning, the Italian finishing fourth, very close behind Marquez and only four hundredths of a second in front of Cal Crutchlow. The LCR rider was back on HRC duty by trying on their aero fairing but still managed an honourable fifth position.

Valentino Rossi looked under threat to be dropped out of the top ten for most of the session, before improving significantly on his final lap to jump into sixth. Morning leader Danilo Petrucci had to make do with a seventh position, while Johann Zarco, usually out of sync with the rest of the field, posted his best times while his rivals were in the pits, preparing their final shootout on shiny new softs. His top time was good enough for eighth position, in front of Alvaro Bautista and Dani Pedrosa.

Outside of the top ten, Karel Abraham, Jack Miller and Aleix Espargaro all sneaked ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, the Spaniard appearing to struggle all afternoon. They will all be hoping for another shot at Q2 in a dry Saturday morning.

Results: