from twowheelsblog
Following this morning’s first free pratice at the Austin circuit there was unanimous complaint from the riders regarding the track surface - that it was dangerous. The total lack of grip and the problem of keeping heat in the tires - that some riders described that it was like riding in the rain - and the result was that lap times were more than five seconds slower than the best lap set during the test in March.
The second free practice with higher temperatures and more rubber on the track saw lap times start dropping after just 10 minutes into the session, with Jorge Lorenzo the first rider to break this morning’s 2.08 barrier, but the leader then became Stefan Bradl for a short while until Lorenzo regained the top of the timesheets.
Watching Marc Marquez following Valentino Rossi you could see where the rookie was making tighter lines and where he was gaining the most time compared to the veteran rider, but it Marquez’lap with 18 minutes left in the practice that set fire to the session, when he blazed through the track dropping more than 1.8 seconds from Lorenzo who was leading up to that moment and then he went on to better himself again by another 0.050s to stop the clock in 2.05.055 and in the finale his best lap was in 2.05.031, with no rivals.
Dani Pedrosa was second fastest and he was a little more than half a second from his team mate, while Stefan Brad in his last flying lap put himself in third and 1.1 seconds from the Repsol Honda rookie, demoting Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, to fourth and fifth, and at 1.606 and 1.837 respectively. Cal Crutchlow was sixth, and just 0.031s from the Italian Yamaha rider and he didn’t test at Austin.
Andrea Dovizioso was forced to park his Ducati at turn 11 after his machine suffered a technical issue, but he returned to track with his spare bike and finished seventh and 2.2 seconds from Marquez and he was followed by Alvaro Bautista, Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies who closed out the top ten.
Aleix Espargaro was the fastest CRT rider in 11th and he was 0.265s from the Pramac Ducati rider, while his team mate Randy de Puniet suffered a small highside at turn 18 and both rider and bike slid off track only his ART scuttled back on track. The French man would finish 14th.
2013 Austin GP FP2 results:
01- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 2’05.031
02- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.554
03- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 1.142
04- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.606
05- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.837
06- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.868
07- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.205
08- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 2.225
09- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.668
10- Ben Spies – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 3.003
02- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.554
03- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 1.142
04- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.606
05- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.837
06- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.868
07- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.205
08- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 2.225
09- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.668
10- Ben Spies – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 3.003
