Submitted by Mike Lewis on
On a damp track, Marco Bezzecchi topped the second free practice at the Motegi circuit in Japan as lap times fell well short of the morning’s dry session. Bezzecchi’s 2’05.403 was eight seconds shy of the best lap of FP1.
Because the tricky, mixed condition didn’t lend themselves to gathering useful data from either full-wet or slick tires many of the top riders spent considerable time in the pits hoping for a dry track. But conditions didn’t improve.
A tenth back Fabio DiGiannantonio grabbed the second slot after leading for part of the session. The good news for the Italian rider is this is a considerable improvement from his 18th-fastest showing in the dry FP1. The bad news is that weather reports indicate dry conditions for Sunday’s race.
Aron Canet, second quickest in the morning, kept his top-three status for second session with a third-fastest showing. Tatsui Suzuki took fourth just in front of Niccolo Antonelli (5th).
Saturday's practice and qualifying also could see mixed conditions but the forecast was for a clear sky for Sunday's race. This could add importance to the FP1 times in which Jakub Kornfeil led the pack.
Results:
Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff. / Prev. | |
1 | 12 | Marco BEZZECCHI | KTM | 2'05.403 | ||
2 | 21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Honda | 2'05.532 | 0.129 / 0.129 | |
3 | 44 | Aron CANET | Honda | 2'05.600 | 0.197 / 0.068 | |
4 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | 2'05.838 | 0.435 / 0.238 | |
5 | 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | 2'06.009 | 0.606 / 0.171 | |
6 | 5 | Jaume MASIA | KTM | 2'06.087 | 0.684 / 0.078 | |
7 | 14 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | 2'06.247 | 0.844 / 0.160 | |
8 | 48 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Honda | 2'06.286 | 0.883 / 0.039 | |
9 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | 2'06.315 | 0.912 / 0.029 | |
10 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | 2'06.425 | 1.022 / 0.110 | |
11 | 77 | Vicente PEREZ | KTM | 2'06.498 | 1.095 / 0.073 | |
12 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | KTM | 2'06.529 | 1.126 / 0.031 | |
13 | 33 | Enea BASTIANINI | Honda | 2'06.635 | 1.232 / 0.106 | |
14 | 41 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | Honda | 2'06.693 | 1.290 / 0.058 | |
15 | 42 | Marcos RAMIREZ | KTM | 2'06.856 | 1.453 / 0.163 | |
16 | 88 | Jorge MARTIN | Honda | 2'06.882 | 1.479 / 0.026 | |
17 | 75 | Albert ARENAS | KTM | 2'07.084 | 1.681 / 0.202 | |
18 | 31 | Celestino VIETTI | KTM | 2'07.102 | 1.699 / 0.018 | |
19 | 10 | Dennis FOGGIA | KTM | 2'07.866 | 2.463 / 0.764 | |
20 | 72 | Alonso LOPEZ | Honda | 2'08.090 | 2.687 / 0.224 | |
21 | 17 | John MCPHEE | KTM | 2'08.311 | 2.908 / 0.221 | |
22 | 81 | Stefano NEPA | KTM | 2'08.576 | 3.173 / 0.265 | |
23 | 27 | Kaito TOBA | Honda | 2'09.221 | 3.818 / 0.645 | |
24 | 36 | Yuto FUKUSHIMA | Honda | 2'09.790 | 4.387 / 0.569 | |
25 | 22 | Kazuki MASAKI | KTM | 2'10.091 | 4.688 / 0.301 | |
26 | 13 | Shizuka OKAZAKI | Honda | 2'10.907 | 5.504 / 0.816 | |
27 | 7 | Adam NORRODIN | Honda | 2'12.469 | 7.066 / 1.562 | |
28 | 65 | Philipp OETTL | KTM | 2'13.720 | 8.317 / 1.251 | |
19 | Gabriel RODRIGO | KTM | ||||
71 | Ayumu SASAKI | Honda |