Submitted by Jared Earle on
Milwaukee Aprilia teammates Lorenzo Savadori and Eugene Laverty ended the session quickest, ahead of Jonathan Rea and Loris Baz as all of the top seventeen riders improved on their morning's times. Leon Camier, sixth quickest, debuted Honda's new wider body kit, designed to keep the wind off his long legs.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | Speed |
| 1 | 32 | L. SAVADORI | Aprilia RSV4 RF | 1'34.562 | 266,7 | |
| 2 | 50 | E. LAVERTY | Aprilia RSV4 RF | 1'35.002 | 0.440 | 262,1 |
| 3 | 1 | J. REA | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'35.003 | 0.441 | 264,7 |
| 4 | 76 | L. BAZ | BMW S 1000 RR | 1'35.025 | 0.463 | 263,4 |
| 5 | 22 | A. LOWES | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'35.048 | 0.486 | 263,4 |
| 6 | 2 | L. CAMIER | Honda CBR1000RR | 1'35.211 | 0.649 | 265,4 |
| 7 | 33 | M. MELANDRI | Ducati Panigale R | 1'35.294 | 0.732 | 267,3 |
| 8 | 12 | X. FORES | Ducati Panigale R | 1'35.364 | 0.802 | 268,0 |
| 9 | 7 | C. DAVIES | Ducati Panigale R | 1'35.369 | 0.807 | 264,1 |
| 10 | 66 | T. SYKES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'35.385 | 0.823 | 262,1 |
| 11 | 21 | M. RINALDI | Ducati Panigale R | 1'35.439 | 0.877 | 263,4 |
| 12 | 60 | M. VAN DER MARK | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'35.663 | 1.101 | 261,5 |
| 13 | 81 | J. TORRES | MV Agusta 1000 F4 | 1'35.807 | 1.245 | 261,5 |
| 14 | 36 | L. MERCADO | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'35.941 | 1.379 | 263,4 |
| 15 | 94 | N. CANEPA | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'36.136 | 1.574 | 262,1 |
| 16 | 68 | Y. HERNANDEZ | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'36.705 | 2.143 | 259,0 |
| 17 | 40 | R. RAMOS | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'36.777 | 2.215 | 260,2 |
| 18 | 24 | A. ANDREOZZI | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'37.317 | 2.755 | 260,9 |
| 19 | 54 | T. RAZGATLIOGLU | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'37.343 | 2.781 | 260,9 |
| 20 | 45 | J. GAGNE | Honda CBR1000RR | 1'37.518 | 2.956 | 261,5 |
| 21 | 99 | P. JACOBSEN | Honda CBR1000RR | 1'37.717 | 3.155 | 264,7 |
Round Number:
9
2018
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Comments
Remarkable advantage
That is a big gap that Savadori has over the rest over the field! Any info on tyre choices? Was he the only one on a sort of qualifying tyre? I've heard from commentary that there is some chance of changing weather for FP3, so I would think that more riders would put on a soft tyre for a quick lap then.
Anyway, great to see both Aprilias topping the time sheet so far! It sure would make things interesting if they have turned a key and can fight for podium positions or even wins from now on.
Regarding the Honda: that bike as standard has a rather ridiculous fairing. It's very tiny at the top, which combined with the bulky middle part makes it look almost pregnant when seen from the front. I've ridden one on track and it felt to me like I had almost no fairing at all, which resulted in much unrest at high speed from the wind buffeting my upper body (apart from a bunch of other issues). Also if you compare it to the very much enlarged fairing of the Kawasakis (is that even legal?), I'm not surprised Camier loses out on top speed and I'd guess also high-speed stability. And if you look at the consistent lack of pace of other two Hondas, he's probably already overriding that bike. Much like Rea was doing in his Honda years on the previous generation. Just my thoughts.