Bradl starts to find his rhythm in the Sepang FP2

The elder Espargaró seems to have found something in the setup of his bike: he has gone from twenty-seventh to second, improving his time by three seconds, a huge step forward to achieve in a single session.

Third place went to the Technomag-CIP rider, Dominique Aegerter, who is really very strong at the Malaysian circuit, where he was first in the previous session.

Taking a look at the rest of our riders, it was not a great session. Pol Espargaró failed to hold on to the good position he had in FP1, because of all the riders who did improve and moved ahead of him. Now, on the HP Tuenti Speed Up, they have to work on the bike to improve what they have for tomorrow’s free practice and qualifying.

Tito Rabat and Axel Pons finished twentieth and twenty-first respectively. Tito seems unable to find his rhythm in the last few races, and as for Axel, he seems to have found some stability on the bike, in a season full of crashes.

The one who is really surprising is Joan Olivé, who qualified twenty-fifth. Let us remember that this rider has only been competing in the Moto2 World Championship for a few races (he competed last year as well), and he is doing quite well.

To close off the Spanish group, four cases remain: Ricky Cardús, twenty-eighth; Jordi Torres, thirtieth; Iván Moreno, thirty-fifth; and Marc Márquez, who did not take part in this session. As for the first three named, all of them suffered crashes in this session. Perhaps the least spectacular was Iván Moreno’s, but we all know that in these crashes you never know. The one who came off worst was Cardús, who went from what seemed like a clean crash, tumbling and sliding, to a tremendous high-side that threw him several metres above the ground, with the consequent impact against the asphalt when he landed.

The last one in dispute, Marc Márquez, did not go out on track. It was a team decision after the accident suffered in FP1, a fall that caused inflammation of a tendon near the shoulder and a wound on his chin; he is accumulating battle scars. It is a shame, because the outcome of this championship is being compromised by a couple of bad moments.

Let us hope that everything changes tomorrow, and that our riders are placed alongside Aleix Espargaró at the top of the classification. Likewise, let us hope that Marc and Ricky recover from their crashes, and that Jordi Torres’s fall has no serious consequences. That way, they can all take part in a great race and fight for results.

Timing table:

Photos | MotoGP