MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo snatched the top spot in second Brno practice away from Petronas SRT Yamaha team-mate Franco Morbidelli in the final moments.
Just 0.007s separated the pair in an ultra-close end to the Friday afternoon practice session for the Czech Grand Prix.
The top four was covered by only 0.081s – with KTM starring again as Tech3 rider Miguel Oliveira took third, and Johann Zarco repeating his morning achievement of being top Ducati as he put the firm’s third-string squad Avintia in fourth place.
There was bad news for another satellite Ducati team, though, with Pramac losing Francesco Bagnaia for at least this weekend’s event following his morning crash.
Bagnaia, whose chances of a 2021 promotion to the factory Ducati team have increased in recent weeks amid the stalemate over Andrea Dovizioso’s future, fell at the first corner right at the end of first practice.
He was initially checked in the circuit medical centre before being transferred to hospital for further evaluation.
The Race understands Bagnaia requires surgery on a broken tibia and will return home to Italy for it.
He may well miss all of the triple-header that begins with Brno this weekend and continues with two Red Bull Ring races.
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro is the most likely stand-in, and could be on duty for Pramac at Brno as soon as tomorrow.
Jack Miller was 10th quickest on the only Pramac bike to run in practice two, with the factory Ducatis of Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso down in 14th and 15th.
As the SRT Yamahas took the top spots, their factory counterparts Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi were fifth and 12th respectively.
All MotoGP’s manufacturers were represented in the top 10. Suzuki led much of the session with Joan Mir before he was pushed back to sixth, and Aprilia began to show some of its potential with Aleix Espargaro in seventh.
Morning pacesetter Takaaki Nakagami was top Honda down in ninth for LCR.
The rest of the Hondas were near the foot of the pack – factory riders Alex Marquez and Stefan Bradl down in 16th and 21st, and Nakagami’s team-mate Cal Crutchlow 18th.
Practice 2 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabio Quartararo | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 1m56.502s | ||
| 2 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.007s | +0.007s | 1m56.509s |
| 3 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | +0.041s | +0.048s | 1m56.55s |
| 4 | Johann Zarco | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +0.033s | +0.081s | 1m56.583s |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +0.085s | +0.166s | 1m56.668s |
| 6 | Joan Mir | Team Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +0.208s | +0.374s | 1m56.876s |
| 7 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.165s | +0.539s | 1m57.041s |
| 8 | Pol Espargaró | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.018s | +0.557s | 1m57.059s |
| 9 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | Honda | +0.014s | +0.571s | 1m57.073s |
| 10 | Jack Miller | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.036s | +0.607s | 1m57.109s |
| 11 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.17s | +0.777s | 1m57.279s |
| 12 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +0.011s | +0.788s | 1m57.29s |
| 13 | Alex Rins | Team Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +0.064s | +0.852s | 1m57.354s |
| 14 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.266s | +1.118s | 1m57.62s |
| 15 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.015s | +1.133s | 1m57.635s |
| 16 | Alex Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.053s | +1.186s | 1m57.688s |
| 17 | Tito Rabat | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +0.089s | +1.275s | 1m57.777s |
| 18 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda | +0.088s | +1.363s | 1m57.865s |
| 19 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.296s | +1.659s | 1m58.161s |
| 20 | Iker Lecuona | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | +0.217s | +1.876s | 1m58.378s |
| 21 | Stefan Bradl | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.046s | +1.922s | 1m58.424s |
| 22 | Francesco Bagnaia | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
