Iannone sets the pace on Day Two of testing at Losail

Andrea Iannone of Team Suzuki went quickest on the second day of the third and final pre-season testing at Losail International Circuit. The Italian dethroned former teammate Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati from top spot by 0.041 seconds in the final half hour of the session, courtesy of a 1:54.586secs lap.Despite some early rain, the field got in some good running on Day 2 – and it was Dovizioso and reigning champion Marc Marquez of Honda who ended the day closest to the ‘Maniac’ on the timesheets.The final day of pre-season today will bring down the curtain, ahead of the first race weekend of the year, the Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit from March 16 to 18. Iannone, who was also a key presence on Day 1 as he moved up the ranks from some more difficult tests at Sepang and Buriram, has been within the top five much of the time – and the Austria 2016 GP winner made a late attack to set a 1:54.586 and pull just 0.041 clear of Dovizioso, largely now confirming data and then working on race setup. Teammate Alex Rins, who has impressed so far in preseason, also made it two Hamamatsu factory machines in the top five on Day 2 – taking P5 and 0.288 off his teammate.Dovizioso, meanwhile, ended his test slightly early after completing a programme of 41 laps and having led for much of the latter part of the day. 0.041 off the top, the 2017 runner up was overwhelmingly positive about his bike at Losail – having also completed a longer run on the newer chassis, but they were tempering the reaction with positives but some negatives. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who was in the top echelons on Day 1, was P14 on Day 2 – putting in 53 laps and less than a second off Iannone.Marquez, who was just 0.167 off Iannone, did make some headlines with a new aero update that was spotted on his Honda Team machine – as well as a crash. But the reigning champion said: “Even the crash was good – because we tried the other bike with a different setup.”  He put in a long run – as did many – and despite a more difficult day, was fastest Honda rider. HRC test rider Cal Crutchlow was the second quickest Honda in P6, a tenth and a half off Marquez and locked out of the top five by just 0.025. Marquez’ teammate Dani Pedrosa, meanwhile, took it a little easier yesterday after a big crash on Day 1 – some pain in his hand meaning he didn’t push; tenth after 35 laps.The fastest Yamaha was once again Johann Zarco (Yamaha Tech 3) after Maverick Vinales (Yamaha MotoGP) had taken back the honour on Day 2. Zarco said it was a great day on track and was fourth overall, making a big improvement on new tyres.  Vinales, on the other hand, ended yesterday in P7. Continuing to look for solutions to some issues plaguing the Iwata marque, the Spaniard did 52 laps and went fastest on his penultimate effort. Teammate Valentino Rossi was P11 and only 0.034 off the top ten and Pedrosa in P10, and the ‘Doctor’ explained he was having some problems with the front tyre that put paid to a time attack. But the rider from Tavullia said his pace “wasn’t bad”, with that front tyre – especially over race distance – a key focus for his side of the garage.Alma Pramac Racing were the third Independent Team represented in the top ten and their pairing of Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller took P8 and P9 to end the day just behind Vi?ales. The two men were split by less than a tenth and it made for another impressive test performance for Queenslander Miller as he settles into life on Ducati machinery – as well as podium challenger ‘Petrux’. Both men did also crash, however, with tumbles into T1 happening almost in unison, but riders ok.Aleix Espargaro was the top Aprilia man yesterday and is “confident and curious” to compare his race simulation planned for the final day of testing, with the Spaniard just under nine tenths off the top in P12. His teammate Scott Redding was fifteenth, after having headed the charge for the Noale factory on Day 1. (motogp.com)