Valencia MotoGP, Circuit Ricardo Tormo - Free Practice (2) Results
Jack Miller edges out Pol Espargaro to lead Friday practice for the 2021 Valencia MotoGP season finale.
After a wet morning session, led by Iker Lecuona, the premier-class completed their first slick tyre laps of the weekend in FP2.
Franco Morbidelli, yet to finish higher than 14th since his comeback from knee surgery, was setting the pace heading into the frantic final minutes when Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia and then Espargaro took over at the top.
But Miller struck back in the final minute, while Espargaro fell from his Repsol Honda into Turn 6, possibly having been distracted by passing Miller.
New world champion Fabio Quartararo also fell, at Turn 2 early in the session, before anoter scare in the closing stages, leaving him a frustrated eleventh.
Valentino Rossi's legendary MotoGP career reaches its conclusion this weekend as the nine-time world champion bows out of the sport after 26 years in grand prix racing.
It's also the last grand prix for Danilo Petrucci (switching to the Dakar) and Lecuona (moving to WorldSBK). Petrucci suffered a hard highside this morning but was back on track this afternoon.
Marc Marquez will finish the season where he started it, on the sidelines, missing his second event in a row due to vision problems triggered by a training accident. The Repsol Honda star won't be back on a MotoGP bike until 2022.
While the riders' (Fabio Quartararo) and constructors' (Ducati) world championship have already been decided, Ducati Lenovo holds a 28-point lead (maximum of 45 points still available) over Monster Yamaha for the teams' title…
| Valencia MotoGP, Circuit Ricardo Tormo - Free Practice (2) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Team (GP21) | 1'30.927s | 19/20 | 329k |
| 2 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.012s | 19/19 | 331k |
| 3 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | +0.068s | 19/20 | 331k |
| 4 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.409s | 19/19 | 327k |
| 5 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | +0.469s | 17/17 | 329k |
| 6 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.500s | 20/20 | 331k |
| 7 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.586s | 19/20 | 327k |
| 8 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.594s | 20/20 | 327k |
| 9 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.670s | 19/22 | 324k |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | +0.676s | 20/21 | 332k |
| 11 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.781s | 16/17 | 323k |
| 12 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +0.893s | 20/21 | 326k |
| 13 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.905s | 11/20 | 321k |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.925s | 20/20 | 327k |
| 15 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.156s | 19/21 | 321k |
| 16 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.171s | 17/18 | 331k |
| 17 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.281s | 19/21 | 329k |
| 18 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +1.287s | 14/16 | 324k |
| 19 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.292s | 14/14 | 326k |
| 20 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.302s | 18/19 | 320k |
| 21 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.358s | 17/19 | 324k |
* Rookie
Official Valencia MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 31.116s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 29.401s (2016)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
