Quartararo tops the second practice session in Jerez as Marquez suffers two crashes

Fabio Quartararo surged to the top of timesheets in the second practice of the Spanish MotoGP finishing fastest on Friday in Jerez, while Marc Marquez ranked 19th after two crashes.

During Jerez MotoGP FP2, Fabio Quartararo established a blazing speed to finish two tenths ahead of Enea Bastianini as Honda’s Marc Marquez suffered two crashes on the same lap.

With conditions having improved since FP1 – when the Jerez track surface was littered with damp patches – speeds dropped almost instantly, with Francesco Bagnaia setting the fastest time of the weekend – a 1:38.174s – right away.

Throughout the 45-minute session, Quartararo, Joan Mir, and Aleix Espargaro all took turns leading the route, with the first two-thirds of the test being led by Quartararo, Joan Mir, and Aleix Espargaro.

On an action-packed day for Quartararo, the reigning MotoGP champion had to recover from numerous harrowing moments before setting the quickest lap on combined timings. His ups-and-downs continued as he ran onto the grass on the exit of the penultimate circuit after crashing at turn 13 in FP1 and suffering two more near-misses at turns eight and five.

LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami, would kick off the final round of qualifying runs by putting on a soft-compound rear tyre for the first time this weekend, clocking a 1:37.581s to take the lead.

Later Bagnaia beat Nakagami’s time with a 1:37.283s, while Quartararo would save his best for last, clocking a blazing 1:37.071s just minutes later – a gambit that earned him the overnight lead.

Enea Bastinaini, riding a Gresini Ducati, finished second, barely ahead of Bagnaia, while Pramac’s Jorge Martin finished fourth overall, making it three Desmosedici-equipped teams in the top four.

Nakagami was relegated to fifth place, ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder, and Pol Espargaro was seventh on the first of Honda’s factory entries.

Alex Rins was the best-placed Suzuki at the end of the day in eighth place, ahead of Maverick Vinales of Aprilia, with Ducati’s Jack Miller closing out the top 10.

After failing to improve his previous time late on, FP1 leader Joan Mir could only manage 12th fastest, despite being just under eight tenths of a second slower than Quartararo’s standard.

Aleix was another rider who found himself moving to the bottom of the timesheets near the end of the session, finishing 13th, just ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Miguel Oliveira.

Marco Bezzecchi was the quickest rookie in FP2 and finished 18th overall, slightly ahead of Marc Marquez, who lapped well over a second slower than Quartararo after failing to make a late improvement – the six-time premier class champion’s cause not helped by a pair of accidents on the same lap.

SPANISH MOTOGP, JEREZ – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS