Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

MotoGP Le Mans: Andrea Dovizioso leads Marc Marquez in FP2

Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso pipped Honda's Marc Marquez to finish on top in second practice for the French Grand Prix

A storm lashed Le Mans between practice sessions and even though it passed before the afternoon running started, conditions were still wet and lap times did not reach those set in the morning.

As the circuit dried, Pramac Ducati's Scott Redding dominated the first half, improving on all but a handful of his first dozen laps and leading the way.

Times started in the 1m49s but fell quickly, with Redding ultimately turning a 1m42.950s at the halfway mark to sit 1.132 seconds clear of championship leader Valentino Rossi.

Redding's team-mate Danilo Petrucci nearly halved that margin with 20 minutes remaining, bringing it down to 0.750s.

When the Briton eventually finished his run, Petrucci moved to within 0.247s of Redding and then claimed top spot with a 1m42.478s entering the final third of the session.

Petrucci then went quicker again to a 1m41.906s, to be eighth tenths clear as light rain started falling again with 10 minutes to go.

Nevertheless, Dovizioso then improved to slot into second place, 0.795s behind Petrucci, and grabbed top spot with a 1m41.673s inside the final two minutes.

He looked set to improve on his next lap, only to make a mistake at the final corner, but had still done enough to finish 0.043s up on Marquez, who claimed second place with his penultimate lap.

Marquez's team-mate and Jerez winner, Dani Pedrosa languished down the order, only managing to set the 21st-fastest time, 4.131s off the pace.

Petrucci and Redding settled for third and fourth place, both within 0.252s of Dovizioso, Redding having been up halfway through his lap when the chequered flag came out but unable to maintain that pace.

Suzuki's Andrea Iannone vaulted into the top 10 and fifth at the very end, finishing ahead of Aspar Ducati's Alvaro Bautista and practice one pacesetter Jack Miller.

Yamaha pair Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi finished eighth and 10th, split by Sam Lowes in an encouraging session for the Aprilia rookie.

Dovizioso's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was 15th, 2.603s off the pace, one spot ahead of Suzuki stand-in Sylvain Guintoli.

Pol Espargaro's session started in frustrating fashion, overshooting Turn 8 on his outlap and taking to the paved run-off area.

When he reached the verge of the gravel trap, the drop meant his KTM toppled over at low speed in what was the session's only fall, and Espargaro could not get it restarted.

He joined the session on his second bike and finished in 20th place, with team-mate Bradley Smith bringing up the foot of the times.

FP2 TIMES

Pos Rider Team Gap Laps
1 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1m41.673s 20
2 Marc Marquez Honda 0.043s 19
3 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Ducati 0.233s 17
4 Scott Redding Pramac Ducati 0.252s 21
5 Andrea Iannone Suzuki 0.405s 20
6 Alvaro Bautista Aspar Ducati 0.952s 21
7 Jack Miller MVDS Honda 1.056s 16
8 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 1.221s 18
9 Sam Lowes Aprilia 1.325s 19
10 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1.333s 20
11 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1.504s 16
12 Loris Baz Avintia Ducati 1.577s 19
13 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 1.667s 14
14 Johann Zarco Tech3 Yamaha 2.504s 21
15 Jorge Lorenzo Ducati 2.603s 21
16 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki 2.899s 17
17 Tito Rabat MVDS Honda 3.005s 21
18 Hector Barbera Avintia Ducati 3.401s 19
19 Jonas Folger Tech3 Yamaha 3.446s 18
20 Pol Espargaro KTM 3.949s 13
21 Dani Pedrosa Honda 4.131s 17
22 Karel Abraham Aspar Ducati 5.454s 9
23 Bradley Smith KTM 6.028s 11

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Suzuki insists its 2017 MotoGP bike is not as bad as results suggest
Next article Le Mans MotoGP: Ducati's Lorenzo 'didn't feel safe' in practice two

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe