Ducati 1-2 at Friday Practice Results (2018 Misano MotoGP)

2018 Misano MotoGP Friday Practice Results

When I posted my Misano MotoGP preview earlier this week, I said it’s going to be a Rossi/Marquez/Ducati showdown for the San Marino Grand Prix, round 13 of 19 in the 2018 MotoGP Championship.

During Friday’s initial two shakedowns of the San Marino GP, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez had nothing on the Ducati Team duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.

When the day was complete, Dovizioso led both practice sessions, claiming a best time 1:32.198 around the 2.63-mile circuit containing 16 corners. To put this time into perspective, the Best Lap at Misano (across all sessions) is a 1:31.868, which was set by Jorge Lorenzo in 2016 (then factory Yamaha).

“I’m pleased I manage to set the quickest time in both of today’s sessions, but I didn’t have a perfect feeling with the bike during free practice,” Andrea Dovizioso says.

“The track conditions were very different to what we encountered during the test here three weeks ago: there isn’t the same amount of grip, the tires wear out in a different way and our set-up is not the same. However, we’re fast and we hope that the weather conditions tomorrow will allow us to work some more on the bike because we have to improve for the race.”

Dovizioso, who has never won at Misano, was followed closely by teammate Lorenzo. The Spaniard, who claimed three-consecutive wins at Misano from 2011-2013 (Yamaha), trailed Dovi by 0.160 of a second.

Third fastest was LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (-0.187), who was followed by Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales (-0.213).

As for Marquez, he would finish fifth – 0.339 of a second behind Dovizioso. Marquez did remain super consistent throughout his sessions, something that can pay off big time during Sunday’s 27-lap GP.

“I’m very happy today because we worked really well here starting with a good setup since the beginning and made a little step in the afternoon also,” points leader and four-time MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez said.

“The other guys did a test two weeks ago so we just tried an be very precise in every step of our work and we’re already happy with our pace. I feel good with the bike; I can ride well. We didn’t put on a new tire in the end because our target is mainly working for the race, like always. We’ll see tomorrow how things go; it seems like many riders are quite strong but we’re very equal already.”

Rossi, who is second in points, 59 points behind Marquez, was more than a half-second off he pace, the YZR-M1 pilot finishing eight, just behind Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins in seventh, and Alama Pramac Racing Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci in sixth.

Rounding out the top 10 in the second MotoGP free practice were Marc VDS Honda’s Franco Morbidelli and Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Johann Zarco.

Overall the other Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR pilot Andrea Iannone was a top-10 finisher due to his FP1 time; he suffered a crash during the second 45-minute free practice session, but walked away unharmed.

The top 14 were within a second of each other.

Stay clicked to Ultimate Motorcycling Saturday morning for qualifying results.

For TV times, visit 2018 MotoGP USA TV Schedule.

2018 Misano Friday Practice Results (FP2):

Pos.	Rider	Manufacturer	Nationality	Time
1	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	ITA	01’32.198
2	Jorge Lorenzo	Ducati	ESP	01’32.358
3	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	GBR	01’32.385
4	Maverick Viñales	Yamaha	ESP	01’32.411
5	Marc Marquez	Honda	ESP	01’32.537
6	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati	ITA	01’32.722
7	Alex Rins	Suzuki	ESP	01’32.775
8	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	ITA	01’32.786
9	Andrea Iannone	Suzuki	ITA	01’32.923
10	Franco Morbidelli	Honda	ITA	01’32.980
11	Johann Zarco	Yamaha	FRA	01’32.985
12	Daniel Pedrosa	Honda	ESP	01’32.999
13	Michele Pirro	Ducati	ITA	01’33.005
14	Alvaro Bautista	Ducati	ESP	01’33.183
15	Jack Miller	Honda	AUS	01’33.193
16	Takaaki Nakagami	Honda	JPN	01’33.274
17	Scott Redding	Ducati	GBR	01’33.322
18	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	ESP	01’33.654
19	Stefan Bradl	Aprilia	DEU	01’33.660
20	Bradley Smith	KTM	GBR	01’33.815
21	Karel Abraham	Ducati	CZE	01’33.878
22	Xavier Simeon	Ducati	BEL	01’33.896
23	Thomas Luthi	Honda	CHE	01’34.278
24	Pol Espargaro	KTM	ESP	01’34.461
25	Hafizh Syahrin	Yamaha	MYS	01’34.539