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Assen MotoGP: Aleix Espargaro sets record pace in FP2

Aleix Espargaro set a new track record in the second MotoGP practice session for the Dutch TT at Assen with the fastest time of the day in 1m33.653s

Running on the softer rear tyre in the dying moments of the session, the Forward Racing rider managed to hook up a perfect lap to demote session-long leader Marc Marquez from the top of the order.

In doing so, Espargaro beat Casey Stoner's fastest lap record by 0.060 seconds, which the Australian set in 2012.

Marquez led the way for the majority of the 45-minute practice period, having set the pace on the sixth lap of his first run, despite experiencing an out-of-shape moment on the inside kerbs of Duikersloot.

The current championship leader made further improvements before the chequered flag, but fell 0.211s short of Espargaro's pacesetting time.

Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa showed good pace to finish in the top three, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone.

Bradley Smith came sixth and is coping well with the omission of a few key personnel today as chief mechanic Guy Coulon is busy dealing with business commitments, while mechanic Steve Blackburn suffered a hip injury while cycling around the track on Wednesday.

Valentino Rossi ended the day ahead of first practice pacesetter Pol Espargaro, who was 0.755s slower than his brother this time around.

Stefan Bradl and Andrea Dovizioso completed the top ten, with the Ducati rider just 0.003s behind his LCR Honda rival.


Pos Rider             Bike                  Time       Gap     Laps
 1. Aleix Espargaro   Forward Yamaha        1m33.653s           17
 2. Marc Marquez      Honda                 1m33.864s  +0.211s  19
 3. Dani Pedrosa      Honda                 1m34.069s  +0.416s  20
 4. Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha                1m34.148s  +0.495s  19
 5. Andrea Iannone    Pramac Ducati         1m34.277s  +0.624s  24
 6. Bradley Smith     Tech 3 Yamaha         1m34.286s  +0.633s  20
 7. Valentino Rossi   Yamaha                1m34.286s  +0.633s  21
 8. Pol Espargaro     Tech 3 Yamaha         1m34.408s  +0.755s  22
 9. Stefan Bradl      LCR Honda             1m34.457s  +0.804s  21
10. Andrea Dovizioso  Ducati                1m34.460s  +0.807s  20
11. Alvaro Bautista   Gresini Honda         1m34.466s  +0.813s  20
12. Scott Redding     Gresini Honda         1m35.445s  +1.792s  16
13. Cal Crutchlow     Ducati                1m35.469s  +1.816s  19
14. Yonny Hernandez   Pramac Ducati         1m35.537s  +1.884s  17
15. Colin Edwards     Forward Yamaha        1m35.590s  +1.937s  20
16. Hiroshi Aoyama    Aspar Honda           1m35.787s  +2.134s  20
17. Nicky Hayden      Aspar Honda           1m35.891s  +2.238s  19
18. Karel Abraham     Cardion Honda         1m35.925s  +2.272s  19
19. Broc Parkes       PBM Aprilia           1m36.046s  +2.393s  18
20. Hector Barbera    Avintia FTR-Kawasaki  1m36.270s  +2.617s  19
21. Michael Laverty   PBM Aprilia           1m36.280s  +2.627s  19
22. Danilo Petrucci   Ioda Suter-BMW        1m36.657s  +3.004s  20
23. Mike di Meglio    Avintia FTR-Kawasaki  1m36.724s  +3.071s  17

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