Aleix Espargaro led Aprilia teammate Maverick Vinales home in FP2 for the Argentinean Grand Prix, while Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati will have to compete in Q1.
With temperatures rising by about 15 degrees Celsius since the FP1 test just a few hours prior, Aprilia’s RS-GP appeared to be the best at dealing with the increased heat throughout the session, as Espargaro set the fastest time early on with a 1:39.116s tour, putting him second in the combined times.
The Italian motorcycles continued to pick up pace as the practice progressed, with the Spaniard setting the fastest time overall in 1:38.956s, with teammate Vinales joining him at the front when he put the sister RS-GP into second.
Espargaro would keep improving until he settled on a time of 1:38.244s, a gamble that would eventually pay off, leaving him at the head of the timing pylon as the chequered flag was displayed, Vinales’ earlier effort enough to keep him in second place by 0.210s.
Jack Miller came in third fastest thanks to a helpful tow from fellow Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi ahead, with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and KTM’s Brad Binder rounding out the top five riders heading straight to Q2.
Takaaki Nakagami, the fastest of the RC213-V pilots in FP1, was also absent, as Honda appeared to have lost their earlier advantage as the temperatures rose. The LCR man was the fastest of the RC213-V pilots in 13th, with Pol Espargaro only 17th on the best of the factory Honda’s after an early crash at Turn 1.
During the session, the first curve claimed another pair of victims, with Tech 3 KTM rookie Remy Gardner being the first to fall foul at the start, followed by VR46’s Bezzecchi who ran in too hot and lost the front as the session neared its conclusion.
Bagnaia, who battled to find grip on his Desmosedici, finished 12th, ahead of fellow Ducati riders Bezzecchi in 15th and Qatar GP winner Enea Bastianini in 16th.
MOTOGP ARGENTINA, TERMAS – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS
| POS | RIDER | NAT | TEAM | TIME/DIFF | LAP | MAX | |
| 1 | ^3 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | 1’38.244s | 17/18 | 335k |
| 2 | ^6 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.210s | 17/21 | 340k |
| 3 | ^14 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.219s | 21/22 | 337k |
| 4 | ˅2 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.227s | 20/26 | 331k |
| 5 | ^4 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.304s | 21/22 | 336k |
| 6 | = | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.375s | 22/27 | 337k |
| 7 | ^3 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.382s | 21/23 | 336k |
| 8 | ^12 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | +0.460s | 18/23 | 336k |
| 9 | ^6 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | +0.553s | 20/25 | 342k |
| 10 | ^6 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.671s | 24/24 | 336k |
| 11 | ˅4 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.680s | 19/25 | 334k |
| 12 | = | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.699s | 18/23 | 335k |
| 13 | ˅12 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.707s | 23/24 | 336k |
| 14 | ^4 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.715s | 20/23 | 332k |
| 15 | ˅10 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)* | +0.729s | 16/21 | 343k |
| 16 | ˅5 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21) | +0.741s | 19/20 | 338k |
| 17 | ˅14 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.934s | 16/21 | 336k |
| 18 | ˅5 | Remy Gardner | AUS | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | +1.259s | 16/17 | 334k |
| 19 | ˅5 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +1.309s | 23/24 | 335k |
| 20 | ^3 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | +1.356s | 17/22 | 333k |
| 21 | ^3 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) | +1.505s | 20/25 | 332k |
| 22 | = | Stefan Bradl | GER | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.696s | 21/25 | 331k |
| 23 | ˅4 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21)* | +1.796s | 14/20 | 336k |
| 24 | ˅3 | Darryn Binder | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)* | +1.834s | 15/17 | 334k |
