Photo: motogp.com
Jorge Lorenzo topped both Free Practice sessions on the opening day at Motegi, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. The Spaniard seems to feel quite well and overcome his recent shoulder injury, and we might expect a great weekend performance from him this Sunday.
Lorenzo got close to the best lap time established by Andrea Dovizioso at Motegi last year. The Yamaha rider lapped around the Twin Ring in 1'44.731, some two tenths slower than Dovi's 1'44.502 performance. Still, with the track temperature and weather conditions being ideal, we would not be surprised to see the track record improved this year.
In FP1, everybody was a tad slower, as expected, and Iannone lapped around four tenths slower than Lorenzo, followed by Rossi in third. Smith had a very good first outing, finishing FP1 fourth, ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso.
Marquez, who recently went under the surgeon's blade for a fractured metacarpal bone, was only 7th, getting the better of Aleix Espagaro, while Aprilia's Bradl ended FP1 on a very encouraging 10th place.
Pedrosa confirmed he is getting better and better after solving his arm pump problems early in the season, and climbed to the second position in FP2, 1.2 tenths behind Lorenzo, showing that he can keep up with the two-time world champion.
In doing so, he pushed Iannone into the third position, but he is still ahead of his teammate Dovizioso. Smith was fifth, followed by Aleix Espargaro, Marc Marquez, and Rossi. Pol Espargaro and Hector Barbera entered the top ten, also.
Lorenzo is showing a great form and strong determination to claw the 2015 title, and in the opening practice day, demonstrated he can ride very fast. On the other hand, Rossi is equally determined to win the tenth world title in his career, especially as it is in his grasp.
Marquez seems to struggle a bit with his post-surgery condition, and may find it difficult to battle at the top. Anyway, it looks like Pedrosa can take over for him and wreak havoc through Rossi's and Lorenzo's plans. Cometh Sunday!
In FP1, everybody was a tad slower, as expected, and Iannone lapped around four tenths slower than Lorenzo, followed by Rossi in third. Smith had a very good first outing, finishing FP1 fourth, ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso.
Marquez, who recently went under the surgeon's blade for a fractured metacarpal bone, was only 7th, getting the better of Aleix Espagaro, while Aprilia's Bradl ended FP1 on a very encouraging 10th place.
FP2 sees the same leader and some changes behind him
The afternoon practice saw Lorenzo getting even more comfortable with the Motegi circuit, and almost the entire grid improved their lap times, save for Bradl, who was 17th, and Forward's Toni Elias, 25th.Pedrosa confirmed he is getting better and better after solving his arm pump problems early in the season, and climbed to the second position in FP2, 1.2 tenths behind Lorenzo, showing that he can keep up with the two-time world champion.
In doing so, he pushed Iannone into the third position, but he is still ahead of his teammate Dovizioso. Smith was fifth, followed by Aleix Espargaro, Marc Marquez, and Rossi. Pol Espargaro and Hector Barbera entered the top ten, also.
Motegi is a turning point for the MotoGP championship
The Sunday race at Motegi is extremely important for the battle at the top of the championship, as Rossi leads Lorenzo by only 14 points, which is not exactly much four races before the end of the season.Lorenzo is showing a great form and strong determination to claw the 2015 title, and in the opening practice day, demonstrated he can ride very fast. On the other hand, Rossi is equally determined to win the tenth world title in his career, especially as it is in his grasp.
Marquez seems to struggle a bit with his post-surgery condition, and may find it difficult to battle at the top. Anyway, it looks like Pedrosa can take over for him and wreak havoc through Rossi's and Lorenzo's plans. Cometh Sunday!
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