Lorenzo Untouchable In FP2

Sep 25, 2015
4 min read

Jorge Lorenzo ended the opening day of the 2015 Aragon Grand Prix on top after setting the fastest lap of the day in FP2.

The Spaniard posted a best lap of 1:47.517 towards the end of the session after fitting a fresh medium rear tyre to his YZR-M1. Lorenzo had led the way prior to that whilst evaluating the hard tyre for the race. Highly consistent and massively fast, this weekend has all the hallmarks of a crushing display of utter dominance from the 2014 race winner.

He will have one eye on the Repsol Honda duo going into tomorrow. Neither Marc Marquez nor Dani Pedrosa fitted a medium option slick to their RC213Vs for a qualifying simulation at all during FP2, instead sticking with the hard tyre in preparation for the race. Pedrosa finished up ahead of Marquez, the pair 4th and 5th respectively. Dani did have a brake issue at the start of the session and required a change of discs

Honda's hidden pace will be more of a concern for Valentino Rossi who was 2nd quickest after FP2, some seven tenths off of his team-mate. If Valentino gets caught up with those Hondas, and Lorenzo happens to be in the lead, then the Italian is going to find it difficult to keep his 23-point advantage intact. Alternatively, the two Honda riders could be a benefit should they jump Lorenzo at the start. Rossi is able to put fast laps in towards the end of a stint, whereas Lorenzo cannot, so curbing Lorenzo's pace could allow his team-mate to keep him at arms length.

FP4 will be a particularly interesting session tomorrow afternoon, as this is where we'll see just what the race pace of those guys truly is.

One man who'll be very happy with his day's work is Bradley Smith. The Tech 3 rider completed a Yamaha top three in FP2 after a late effort of 1:48.318 elevated him to 3rd on the time sheets. Comfortably top satellite rider, the Briton is looking on course to possibly beat both factory Ducatis this weekend too.

Suzuki's morning session was an absolute nightmare, their lack of power appearing to be seriously hampering them. But there were no such problems in FP2. Team Boss, Davide Brivio, stated to motogp.com that they had in fact brought small power upgrades to Aragon, and that their lack of pace was down to a lack of grip as a result of the colder conditions. With track temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius, the GSX-RR vastly improved its pace and Aleix Espargaro was able to go 7th quickest on a 1:48.524. It should be noted that he was on the soft rear Bridgestone, but it does appear that points may just be possible after all. Maverick Vinales wasn't able to replicate his team-mate's pace and was a lowly 16th.

Scott Redding had an excellent morning session in 5th, but fell to 12th in FP2 which does feel a little ominous. The Honda is working very well here, but the lack of the power-smoothing upgrades the factory riders have does hold the satellite boys back. Given the number of long corners at Aragon, front stability is mightily important and that has been an area the older specification RC213V has really struggled. Cal Crutchlow was 13th and there is a strong chance both riders may have to go through QP1 together for the second consecutive race.

Hector Barbera had a more positive afternoon and ended up 14th overall, the Avintia rider even getting as high as 10th for a brief moment. What will be more important for the Spaniard is that he outpaced open championship rival Loris Baz in 17th. Barbera had held the lead in that battle for the entire season until the Forward rider took his astonishing 4th place last time out in Misano. Expect that particular duel to heat up this weekend.

FP2 Result:

1st Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:47.517

2nd Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:48.200

3rd Bradley Smith, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:48.318

4th Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, 1:48.358

5th Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, 1:48.401

6th Pol Espargaro, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:48.445

7th Aleix Espargaro, Suzuki Team Ecstar, 1:48.524

8th Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team, 1:48.575

9th Andrea Iannone, Ducati Team, 1:48.615

10th Danilo Petrucci, Octo Pramac Racing Ducati, 1:48.829

11th Yonny Hernandez, Octo Pramac Racing Ducati, 1:48.955