Savadori tops wet FP2 but Nakagami fastest on Friday

Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) will take huge confidence from his performance in a wet FP2, which saw him top the session’s timesheets with a 1:31.304 at the Michelin® Grand Prix of Styria. The Italian had 0.154 seconds to spare over Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco while Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) joined them in the top three. However, none of them could improve morning times as the rain made for difficult conditions at the Red Bull Ring.

As a result, LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami finishes Friday fastest ahead of Mir and Aleix Espargaro.

Changeable conditions keep things the same

A light dusting of rain at the conclusion of Moto3™ FP2 turned into a shower by the time the premier class were due on track, with a number of riders opting to wait it out before taking their machines out for some laps. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) decided against going out altogether, having had a brief look on track, the Portuguese rider chose not to risk doing any further damage after suffering a heavy fall in FP1. Owing to the wet weather, there were no improvements from the morning’s times, which sees Nakagami as the man to beat going into FP3.

Friday's top 10

The likes of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Repsol Hondas Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez can rest easy this evening knowing they sit comfortably among the top 6. Both the factory Yamahas, Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo, should be satisfied with their day's work also, given that the M1 traditionally tends to have some difficulties around this track, and they sit in P7 and P8 respectively. Rounding out the final Q2 places are Zarco and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) who will breathe a sigh of relief they have made the cut with rain a distinct possibility on Saturday morning.

Q2 worries

Should there be wet conditions during FP3, it will come as a concern to riders who will want to avoid missing out on the automatic Q2 spots and going down the dreaded Q1 route. Oliveira currently finds himself in P15, while teammates Brad Binder and Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also sit outside the top 10, meaning that there’s a very real possibility none of Austrian manufacturers bikes will make it into Q2 for their home Grand Prix. Also outside the Q2 places is Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) which will come as a worry for a rider who has race-winning ambitions which could relaunch his title bid.

Top 10 combined:

1. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) – 1:23.805
2. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.076
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.378
4. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.416
5. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.449
6. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.670
7. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.687
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.775
9. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 0.775