Lorenzo Savadori was the surprise session-topper for Aprilia in a wet second MotoGP practice session ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
Following on from LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami going fastest in FP1, it was Savadori who emerged as the fastest rider on a damp but drying circuit.
Savadori topped the session with a 1m31.304s, over seven seconds slower than Nakagami’s morning benchmark.
Second fastest was Johann Zarco, who was 0.154s slower than Savadori on his Pramac Ducati machine. The top three was completed by defending champion Joan Mir.
The factory Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia was fourth fastest ahead of the second Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro and Suzuki’s Alex Rins.
On the day after he announced his MotoGP retirement, Valentino Rossi had a brief trip through the gravel on the exit of Turn 4. LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez suffered from a similar moment earlier in the session.
Not a lot of grip into Turn 4! ⚠️@ValeYellow46 and @alexmarquez73 have both taken a trip through the gravel! 💨#StyrianGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/EbuQzT3TvX
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 6, 2021
Both riders were able to continue with Marquez able to take the seventh-fastest time, ahead of the Tech3 KTM of Iker Leucona, who had an off early in the session at the Turn 1 right-hander.
The top 10 was completed by Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales and six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez.
Championship leader Fabio Quartararo found himself down in 15th place at the chequered flag, just behind Jack Miller’s Ducati who risked it on slick tyres at the end of the session.
As the FP2 times were far slower than the FP1 efforts, Quartararo still has a provisional place in Q2 while FP2 session topper Savadori will currently need to take part in Q1.
KTM’s Dani Pedrosa was 21st fastest in the second practice session of his first MotoGP race weekend in three years, one place behind fellow returnee Cal Crutchlow – standing in for the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha.
KTM’s Miguel Oliveira completed a single outlap following his nasty FP1 highside, and didn’t set a flying lap.
Practice 2 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1m31.304s | ||
| 2 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.154s | +0.154s | 1m31.458s |
| 3 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.108s | +0.262s | 1m31.566s |
| 4 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.616s | +0.878s | 1m32.182s |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.049s | +0.927s | 1m32.231s |
| 6 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.08s | +1.007s | 1m32.311s |
| 7 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.134s | +1.141s | 1m32.445s |
| 8 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.098s | +1.239s | 1m32.543s |
| 9 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.142s | +1.381s | 1m32.685s |
| 10 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.156s | +1.537s | 1m32.841s |
| 11 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.183s | +1.72s | 1m33.024s |
| 12 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.128s | +1.848s | 1m33.152s |
| 13 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.263s | +2.111s | 1m33.415s |
| 14 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.018s | +2.129s | 1m33.433s |
| 15 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.065s | +2.194s | 1m33.498s |
| 16 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.091s | +2.285s | 1m33.589s |
| 17 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.069s | +2.354s | 1m33.658s |
| 18 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.026s | +2.38s | 1m33.684s |
| 19 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.222s | +2.602s | 1m33.906s |
| 20 | Cal Crutchlow | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.048s | +2.65s | 1m33.954s |
| 21 | Dani Pedrosa | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0s | +2.65s | 1m33.954s |
| 22 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.628s | +3.278s | 1m34.582s |
