Last gasp Quartararo punches in top FP2 time for Petronas Yamaha 1-2
2020 Czech Republic MotoGP – Free Practice Results (2)
Petronas SRT Yamaha showed its teeth in second free practice for the Czech Republic MotoGP in Brno as Fabio Quartararo edged team-mate Franco Morbidelli to give them the overnight advantage on Friday.
After an anonymous start to the weekend with a run to only 12th best in FP1, Quartararo appeared a lot more animated at the second time of asking, the current championship leader gesticulating wildly after letting a fast time midway through the session go awry with a mistake at turn three, while he looked similarly dissatisfied at times in the pit box.
Nonetheless, he dug deep in the final moments to snatch the best time off Morbidelli with 1min 56.502s, a mere 0.007s up on his Italian team-mate, the pair well quicker than Takaaki Nakagami’s pace setting time in FP1.
With a flurry of best laps coming in the closing stages, some of the lesser fancied riders once again found themselves at the sharp end with Miguel Oliveira impressing to place the Tech 3 KTM third, himself just 0.048s off Quartararo’s top time.
On a weekend that is expected to suit the Ducati contingent, the manufacturer might be rather humbled to see last year’s GP19 out-performing the current GP20 in the hands of Johann Zarco, the Frenchman again the quickest of the Desmosedicis in fourth place.
Maverick Vinales made gains in the closing stages to turn in the fifth best time, ahead of long-time session pace setter Joan Mir on the best of the Suzukis, while Aleix Espargaro gave Aprilia a welcome fillip in seventh position.
Pol Espargaro turned in the eighth best time, ahead of top Honda rider Nakagami, while Jack Miller was the best of the current generation Ducatis in tenth, with Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso well down the order in 14th and 15th respectively.
Elsewhere, Valentino Rossi was 12th best ahead of Alex Rins, while Alex Marquez recovered to 16th after losing time early on with a technical issue on his Repsol Honda.
Pecco Bagnaia looks set to miss the remainder of the Brno round after injuring his knee in an accident during FP1.
