Lorenzo tops Friday times in Jerez

Jorge Lorenzo maintained his position at the forefront of the timesheets as Free Practice continued in Jerez on Friday afternoon. The MotoGP World Champion this time led Cal Crutchlow, pushing Dani Pedrosa down to third position as riders from three a trio of different teams occupied the top three positions.

There was off-track drama in the way of a power cut that resulted in the session starting seven minutes late. Once it did get underway, with perfect weather, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo reduced his morning lap time by two tenths of a second to post 1’39.562. Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) were both two tenths inside that, with Valentino Rossi going fourth quickest.

Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Andrea Iannone (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) filled positions five to eight as CRT riders impressed behind.

As predicted by many before this Gran Premio bwin de Espana weekend, the CRTs are challenging more midfield prototype runners than has been the case at previous events. Hector Barbera – battered and bruised after a motocross accident at the end of last week – was ninth for Avintia Blusens, beating Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro. Their speed is likely to make for a dramatic climax to Saturday’s third practice session, as an assortment of riders battle for a guaranteed position in Q2 Qualifying.

Several men found themselves with problems. As Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham fought through the pain of a broken right collarbone after his Qualifying crash in Texas, Ignite Pramac Racing’s Ben Spies has not travelled to Jerez as he recovers from the trapped nerve which caused severe discomfort at the last round.

In this afternoon’s session, both Yonny Hernandez (PBM) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) suffered crashes, whereas Danilo Petrucci was presented with no option but to stop his Came IodaRacing Project machine as thick smoke and flames came from the exhaust. Ending the day 13th quickest, Ducati Team test rider Michele Pirro debuted a brand-new frame as he competes as a wildcard for the first time in 2013.

Practice 3, which also has a bearing on which riders will move directly into Q2 Qualifying, begins at 9:55am local time (GMT +2) on Saturday.

Results

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1'39.562 0.000 / 0.000
2 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'39.733 0.171 / 0.171
3 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'39.757 0.195 / 0.024
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1'39.874 0.312 / 0.117
5 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'39.889 0.327 / 0.015
6 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA GO&FUN Honda Gresini Honda 1'40.507 0.945 / 0.618
7 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Ducati 1'40.574 1.012 / 0.067
8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Blusens FTR 1'40.736 1.174 / 0.162
9 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 1'40.738 1.176 / 0.002
10 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1'40.837 1.275 / 0.099
11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 1'40.884 1.322 / 0.047
12 51 Michele PIRRO ITA Ducati Test Team Ducati 1'40.902 1.340 / 0.018
13 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'40.990 1.428 / 0.088
14 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'41.053 1.491 / 0.063
15 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 1'41.078 1.516 / 0.025
16 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 1'41.751 2.189 / 0.673
17 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Avintia Blusens FTR 1'41.774 2.212 / 0.023
18 71 Claudio CORTI ITA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 1'41.790 2.228 / 0.016
19 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 1'42.058 2.496 / 0.268
20 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Paul Bird Motorsport ART 1'42.603 3.041 / 0.545
21 67 Bryan STARING AUS GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda 1'42.606 3.044 / 0.003
22 70 Michael LAVERTY GBR Paul Bird Motorsport PBM 1'42.974 3.412 / 0.368
23 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing ART 1'43.356 3.794 / 0.382
24 52 Lukas PESEK CZE Came IodaRacing Project Ioda-Suter 1'43.403 3.841 / 0.047