Well, two aspects of performance for the MotoGP grid at the Losail circuit in Qatar remained for the second free practice: NGM Forward Racing's Aleix Espargaro continued his torrid pace at the front to be the only rider to dip into the 1:54 range and lead the field on his Open class Yamaha, and the Factory class machines continued to struggle with grip issues on the harder option tires they are forced to use. Although all the Factory riders were having problems, the least happy was surely Jorge Lorenzo, who languished down in 11th spot on the lap charts. Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate Valentino Rossi was only slightly quicker, his 1:55.984 lap only 0.188 seconds ahead. The Repsol Honda pair of Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez made some improvements, but both were still more than half a second behind the speedy Espargaro. Ducati's Andrea Dovisioso made use of the softer tire option available to his "Open" class team to turn a quick lap that put him in second spot, while GO&FUN Honda Gresini's Alvaro Bautista continued to hover in the top three, turning quick laps on the medium option tire.
The third free practice for MotoGP has just got underway, so it will be interesting to see if the factory teams are able to find a solution, as practice order determines who gets into qualifying tomorrow.
