Fabio Quartararo moved to the front of the field in FP2 for the Spanish Grand Prix to end Friday quickest at Jerez, while Marc Marquez lies 19th after crashing twice.
With conditions having further improved relative to FP1 – in which a large quantity of damp patches peppered the Jerez track surface – times came down immediately, with Francesco Bagnaia posting the fastest time of the weekend – a 1:38.174s – straight off the bat.
Improvements would come thick and fast throughout the 45-minute session, with the likes of Quartararo, Joan Mir and Aleix Espargaro all taking turns to lead the way across the opening two-thirds of the test.
It would be Takaaki Nakagami that set off the final set of qualifying runs though by bolting on a soft-compound rear tyre for the first time this weekend, the LCR Honda man posting a 1:37.581s to sit atop the times.
Bagnaia would cut his time at the peak of the efforts short though with a 1:37.283s, while Quartararo would save his best until last with a blistering 1:37.071s just moments later – a gambit that was enough to grant him the overnight-leaders position.
Enea Bastinaini managed to find time right at the end to slot into second on his Gresini Ducati just ahead of Bagnaia, while Pramac man Jorge Martin made it three-different Desmosedici-equipped squads in the top four to end Friday fourth overall.
Nakagami ended up being shuffled back to fifth ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder, while Pol Espargaro was seventh on the first of the factory Honda outfit’s entries.
Alex Rins scored eighth as the best-placed Suzuki at the end of the day ahead of Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, with the other official Ducati of Jack Miller rounding out the top ten.
FP1 leader Joan Mir could manage only 12th quickest after failing to improve his earlier time late on, though the 2020 MotoGP world champion running just under eight-tenths-of-a-second slower than Quartararo’s benchmark.
Aleix was another to find himself shuffled through the pack towards the end of the session, the Argentina GP victor ending up 13th just ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Miguel Oliveira.
Marco Bezzecchi was again fastest rookie in FP2 in 18th overall, the VR46 pilot just heading Marc Marquez, who lapped well over a second adrift of Quartararo after failing to post a late improvement – the six-time premier class champions cause not being helped by a pair of crashes on the same lap.
Having lost the front of his RC213-V into Turn 6 mid-way through the test, Marquez quickly remounted and cruised around to head back to the pits.
While trying to move clear of some approaching riders behind he ran wide at Turn 9 just seconds later and touched one of the few remaining damp patches on the track, Marquez losing the front once again as he scuttled into the gravel trap on the outside of the bend.
