2019 MotoGP Round 16
Motegi Friday Practices
Riders were very keen to get a quick lap down this afternoon when FP2 got underway at Motegi just after 1700 Friday afternoon Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
The reasons for their haste were dropping track temperatures combined with looming rain clouds, and when it rains at Motegi, it really rains! The forecast for tomorrow is not all that friendly, so there is a fair chance that riders will not manage to improve on their times tomorrow which is what makes today so crucial.
It had been a Yamaha 1-2-3 in FP1 led by Maverick Vinales but the Yamaha men were not in any hurry to improve on their markers until late in the session when Vinales went under the lap record to lower the benchmark further to 1m45.085s.
There were red sectors appearing everywhere in the dying seconds of the session and the first man to displace Vinales was none other than French rookie Fabio Quartararo, a 1m44.764s putting him top of the pops before he then ran off into the gravel trap.
Marc Marquez had to settle for third quickest ahead of Andrea Dovizioso.
Jack Miller went down as the chequered flag came out but had earlier registered a 1m45.577s which looked safe enough to see him through to Q2 if it rains tomorrow morning.
Rossi dropped in a last gasp 1m45.466s when it counted to take him from zero to almost hero which shuffled Miller down to seventh but the Australian remained in front of Danilo Petrucci.
Miguel Oliveira had gone down pretty hard with 25-minutes remaining in the 45-minute sessions. It was an ugly tumble for the 24-year-old through the kitty litter who was already coming into this weekend still carrying prior injuries.
MotoGP FP2 Results
- Fabio Quartararo – Yamaha 1m44.764s
- Maverick Vinales – Yamaha 1m45.085s
- Marc Marquez – Honda 1m45.100s
- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati 1m45.414s
- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha 1m45.466s
- Franco Morbidelli – Yamaha 1m45.562s
- Jack Miller – Ducati 1m45.577s
- Danilo Petrucci – Ducati 1m45.619s
- Joan Mir – Suzuki 1m45.641s
- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia 1m45.721s
- Alex Rins – Suzuki 1m45.730s
- Cal Crutchlow – Honda 1m45.804s
- Pol Espargaro – KTM 1m46.020s
- Franceso Bagnaia – Ducati 1m46.330s
- Takaaki Nakagami – Honda 1m46.557s
- Karel Abraham – Ducati 1m46.576s
- Jorge Lorenzo – Honda 1m46.661s
- Andrea Iannone – Aprilia 1m46.745s
- Miguel Oliveira – KTM 1m46.800s
- Sylvain Guintoli – Suzuki 1m46.803s
- Mika Kallio – KTM 1m46.898s
- Tito Rabat – Ducati 1m47.158
- Hafizh Syahrin – KTM 1m47.974s
MotoGP Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
| 1 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 325 |
| 2 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 215 |
| 3 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | SPA | 167 |
| 4 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | SPA | 163 |
| 5 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 162 |
| 6 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 145 |
| 7 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | FRA | 143 |
| 8 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | AUS | 119 |
| 9 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 102 |
| 10 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | ITA | 90 |
| 11 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | SPA | 80 |
| 12 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | JPN | 74 |
| 13 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | SPA | 58 |
| 14 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | SPA | 46 |
| 15 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | ITA | 34 |
| 16 | Andrea IANNONE | Aprilia | ITA | 33 |
| 17 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | POR | 29 |
| 18 | Johann ZARCO | KTM | FRA | 27 |
| 19 | Jorge LORENZO | Honda | SPA | 23 |
| 20 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | SPA | 18 |
| 21 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | GER | 16 |
| 22 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | ITA | 9 |
| 23 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | FRA | 7 |
| 24 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | KTM | MAL | 7 |
| 25 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 5 |
Source: MCNews.com.au