Fresh off his pace in free practice 1, Franco Morbidelli continued to show his speed in the afternoon practice. He finished in the top 3 and with Fabio DiGiannantonio also advancing, it’s been a positive day for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. Marc Márquez set the fastest time, but the whole grid were close.
Strategic Running for Teams
Teams and riders seemed to be more strategic with their runs in this afternoon’s practice session. In the early running, riders were prioritising practicing following instead of pure speed. Using the medium compound of tyres, they were continuing to test the track and their limits.
When riders weren’t on track, they could be found in their garages. There were many times during this session when there was no track running – with riders choosing to discuss and plan with their teams. This made it slower for viewers, but would have been crucial for the development for the weekend.
A Change of Speed
Compared to most of the session, things sped up in the final ten minutes. With all riders swapping to the soft tyres, we finally saw some qualifying simulations. Initially, this saw a massive switch up in the standings the times tumbled. Ducati Lenovo rider Francesco Bagnaia briefly saw himself in the top spot, being the first to set a time in the 1 minute 30’s. Finishing 11th in free practice this was a big improvement for the Italian – is he getting some momentum back?
Eventually, the grid settled down but some unexpected faces still were quick enough to advance straight to Q2. Castrol Honda HRC‘s Joan Mir and Luca Marini both advanced. It’s a positive start to their new rear aero package that the team debuted this weekend. Both VR46 Racing Team riders also made it through, with Morbidelli finishing 3rd and DiGiannantonio clinching 10th in the closing moments.
Track Limits and Yellows
As riders tested the limits it was inevitable that people would see their times deleted. And in the early part of the session, many were falling foul. Most notably, Álex Márquez and Jorge Martín both lost laps due to exceeding the limits. Both however, were able to reign it in and eventually advanced.
In the final 5 minutes there were 4 yellow periods. With riders pushing to get into the fight for pole, mistakes started happening. It was triggered by Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernández, who went down in Turn 4. The following laps also saw Mir, Raúl Fernández, and Jack Miller all come off their bikes and cause yellows. This prevented some drivers, like Fabio Quartararo, from improving their times.
The follow top 10 will all advance straight to Q2 tomorrow morning for their chance at pole position:
Can Morbidelli continue his pace the rest of the weekend and bring home a win? Or will we see Márquez back on the top spot? There’s more time to find on track so tune in tomorrow to see who can take pole.