Lorenzo threatens Honda’s dominance at #IndyGP after opening day

2015-08-08 16:24
The MotoGP™ World Championship returned from its summer break to provide copious amounts of entertainment on the first day of practice at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

It was Jorge Lorenzo who took advantage of the blue skies and almost ideal conditions (47ºC Track Temp) to top both Free Practice sessions ahead of Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez. FP2 saw grip levels improved from the morning session as riders bedded in the track, and Lorenzo left it until his very last lap to set a 1’32.860. The double MotoGP™ World Champion topping the timesheets at a track that has traditionally played to the Honda’s strengths, with Lorenzo the last non-Honda rider to taste victory back in 2009.

Marquez was just three thousandths of a second further back in second overall and was the only other rider to break the 1’33 barrier, as he looks to make it 3 MotoGP™ wins in a row at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso (+0.295s) completed the provisional front row ahead of his teammate Andrea Iannone (0.306s) in fourth, as they both seemed to benefit from a private test at Misano during the summer break.

CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (+0.326s) improved by over a second throughout the day to finish as the leading Satellite rider in fifth, ahead of Pol Espargaro (+502s) on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 who suffered a nasty looking highside at the end of FP2 at turn 13.

Dani Pedrosa (+0.517s) on the second Repsol Honda ended the day in seventh, while Scott Redding (+0.583s) continued to show signs of improvement on the EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda to finish in eighth. Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) set a time good enough for ninth overall, while the current Championship leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) found himself down in tenth on the combined timesheets, 0.672s behind his teammate Lorenzo.

Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera was the leading Open class rider in 14th, ahead of the Factory Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR of Aleix Espargaro in 15th, and local hero Nicky Hayden on the Aspar MotoGP Team Honda.

Hayden’s teammate Eugene Laverty managed to end the day in 19th, with Stefan Bradl making his debut on the Factory Aprilia Racing Team Gresini RS-GP in 20th, 0.131s ahead of his teammate Alvaro Bautista. Tony Elias, who is filling in for the injured Karel Abraham in the AB Motoracing team, finished the day in 23rd.

Check out the combined MotoGP™ Free Practice results, FP3 is due to start at 9:55am local time in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Rabat sets the pace in Moto2™

T. Rabat (SPA)
Reigning Moto2™ World Champion Tito Rabat on the EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex ended the first day of practice at the Red Bull Grand Prix of Indianapolis on top of the combined timesheets.

Rabat, who was third fastest in FP1, manage to up his pace by almost a second in FP2 as he took advantage of ideal conditions and improving grip levels at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rabat was the only rider to break the 1’37 barrier, and his 1’36.967 was less than a tenth off the Pole Record (1’36.883s) at the circuit set by Mika Kallio last year. Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes was 0.328s further back in second overall, with Takaaki Nakagami (+0.439s) on the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex completing the provisional front row.

Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Alex Rins (+0.479s) had topped FP1 in the morning but had to settle for fourth overall ahead of the current championship leader Johann Zarco (+0.481s) on the Ajo Motorsport Kalex in fifth.

Italtrans Racing Team’s Mika Kallio (+0553s) followed up his fifth place in FP1 by finishing the day sixth fastest overall ahead of Jonas Folger (+0.593s) on the AGR Team Kalex in seventh.

Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team), Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) who crashed in FP1 but was unhurt, and Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) completed the top ten.

Race winner at the German GP Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) found himself down in 15th, while Xavi Vierge, who replaced Ricky Cardus in the Tech 3 team, ended the day in 27th.

Check out the combined Moto2™ FP1 and FP2 times, FP3 is due to start at 10:55am local time in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Vazquez ends day on top in Moto3™

E. Vazquez (SPA)
Leopard Racing’s Vazquez left it until his last lap of the day to top the combined Moto3™ timesheets after the first day of Free Practice at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The Spaniard, like most of the other top riders, spent most of FP2 on the same tyres he had used in the morning to try and bed in the track and improve grip levels. With ten minutes to go in the session, riders pitted for fresh rubber and the times began to tumble. Vazquez set a 1’41.266 in almost ideal conditions, with the sun shining and track temperatures reaching 47 °C.

Vazquez finished 0.168s ahead of Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Fabio Quartararo who impressed on his first visit to the circuit. Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent (+0.171s), who had topped the timesheets in FP1 despite a late crash, was the only rider not to improve in the afternoon as he ended the day in third overall.

Ongetta-Rivacold’s Niccolo Antonelli (+0.238s) incredibly managed to end the day in fourth, despite the Italian crashing twice during FP2. Jorge Navarro, who had fractured the 5th metatarsal in his right foot after crashing in FP1, managed to ended the day in fifth after improving by over two seconds in the afternoon. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira was in sixth place, as he showed no ill effects from the surgery on his fractured hand sustained in practice at the German GP.

Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Team Moto3), Jorge Martin (Mapfre team Mahindra) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the top ten.

Husqvarna Factory Laglisse’s debutant Lorenzo Dalla Porta impressed in 15th on his debut, while the man he replaced Isaac Viñales, ended the day in 17th as he fills in for the injured Anna Carrasco in the RBA Racing Team. Scottish rider John McPhee struggled on the SAXOPRINT RTG Honda and could only manage to finish in 31st place, 2.141s behind Vazquez.

Check out the combined Moto3™ FP1 & FP2 results, FP3 kicks off at 9:00am local time in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Source: MotoGP

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