Editorial Note: The current race lap record is 1:24.561, which was set by Andrea Iannone in 2016.

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Red Bull Ring, Austria

August 11, 2017

Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:24.046

2. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:24.280

3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:24.474

4. Johann ZARCO, France (YAMAHA), 1:24.522

5. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (DUCATI), 1:24.616

6. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:24.649

7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:24.668

8. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (APRILIA), 1:24.726

9. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:24.765

10. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:24.780

11. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KTM), 1:24.859

12. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:24.883

13. Loris BAZ, France (DUCATI), 1:24.925

14. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:24.935

15. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (YAMAHA), 1:24.992

16. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUZUKI), 1:25.218

17. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:25.258

18. Sam LOWES, UK (APRILIA), 1:25.270

19. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KTM), 1:25.320

20. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:25.335

21. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:25.369

22. Alex RINS, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:25.452

23. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:25.616

24. Bradley SMITH, UK (KTM), 1:25.664

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

 Zarco ignites Austrian GP campaign with 4th on Day 1 – Folger remains focused despite tricky start

Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Johann Zarco fired a warning shot to his rivals by finishing the opening day of action in Austria in 4th and as the top independent rider. After building his pace in the morning, the French star ran a series of highly impressive times at the end of FP2, with his fastest lap leaving him only 0.048 back from 3rd as he confidently looks on to tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Jonas Folger endured a challenging first day at the undulating Spielberg circuit as he worked relentlessly with his team, yet he still powered through and finished only 0.470 behind his teammate. The young German aims to make strides forward tomorrow with his sights fully set on clinching a strong grid position for the headline event on Sunday. He will return to the track along with the rest of the MotoGP field at 09:55 for FP3.

Johann Zarco

Position: 4th – Time: 1’24.522 – Laps: 40

“I am pretty happy with how the first day went. We were waiting for wet conditions, but in the end, both sessions were dry and I was competitive. When we use the soft tyre because it’s the safer option, I always end up inside the top ten and today, I was only just outside of the leading three. Therefore, it was a very good first day because I like this track and everything is going well with the Yamaha. I feel comfortable on the brakes so the Tech3 team and I are worked hard on the acceleration, which is strong and we can be satisfied when we compare ourselves to the other riders. I think that we can still make some steps forward to improve because the references and lap times from last year are really fast and I’m sure that the top riders will be on this pace again.”

Jonas Folger

Position: 16th – Time: 1’24.992 – Laps: 37

“It was a tricky day for us but I’m certain that we can bounce back tomorrow. When we started, we headed towards a direction that worked well in the Czech Republic, yet, it turns out that it is not as effective here. The main issue at the moment is the braking, and I am experiencing some locking and instability. However, I am more than confident that we will be able to amend this so that I can lower my lap time and then get a really solid qualifying position for the race on Sunday. Anyway, I can’t wait to get back on the track tomorrow and continue the hard work.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:

Miller and Rabat off to solid start in Austria

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Jack Miller and Tito Rabat diligently worked through a range of set-up options and different Michelin tyre combinations today to enhance their prospects of a double points scoring finish in Sunday’s Austrian MotoGP round.

The pair were just over a second off the best pace in an incredibly close opening practice this morning, which took part on a dry track, despite the constant threat of rain coming from grey and gloomy skies over the spectacular Spielberg track.

This afternoon’s second session commenced on a track that was almost completely dry, but damp patches at the tight turn 3 that resulted from a short earlier downpour prevented Miller and Rabat from carrying out any meaningful early set-up work on their Honda RC213V machinery.

Once the track was totally dry and ready for slick tyres, Miller and Rabat were both able to improve their pace compared to this morning, while gaining crucial information on potential tyre choice ahead of Sunday’s 28-lap Spielberg showdown.

The picturesque Spielberg track is dominated by hard braking zones, high-speed straights and demanding acceleration points, and it is a lack of corner exit grip that Miller will seek to improve as the weekend progresses.

Spaniard Rabat worked on gaining more front-end stability for the strong braking points today, and part of that process saw him as the only rider to circulate using Michelin’s hard option front tyre at the end of FP2.

Jack Miller: 20th – 1’25.335

“Coming to this track we knew it was going to be a difficult challenge for us with the circuit dominated by hard acceleration points, which is not the strong point of our package. We are doing our best to extract the maximum we can out of what we have got and I think we have done that. My rhythm is not too bad but we can see from the lap times and my position that it is not fast enough right now. We’ll be back tomorrow for another go but we have to make some improvements to have a good qualifying.”

Tito Rabat: 23rd – 1’25.616

“I felt this morning was very good and with the soft rear tyre I was able to set a fast lap that was less than 0.5s away from the top 10. This afternoon we decided to use the medium front and medium rear combination and it didn’t feel too bad. But then we changed something on the bike and I lost a bit of feeling entering the corner. To try and get a bit more stability on the brakes I decided to use the hard front tyre and the soft rear to make a lap time at the end of the session, but it was difficult to get the front quickly up to temperature. That’s why I perhaps slowed Marc a little while he was on a fast lap and I apologise to him because the last thing I intended to do was force him to slow down.”

Ramon Aurin: Jack Miller Chief Engineer

“We knew from last year that this track does not ideally suit the characteristics of our package, so we were prepared for today to not be the easiest. There is a lot of hard acceleration here and we are behind in that area, and we must improve in the last two sectors. That is where we lose a lot of time. We tried the soft rear tyre this morning to consider it as an option for the race and the pace was not so bad. But we have a lot to improve to be more competitive in qualifying.”

More, from a press release issued by Pull&Bear Aspar Team:

Bautista just 0,015 seconds outside the top 10

Pull&Bear Aspar finishes in eleventh place but just 0.7 seconds off pacesetter Dovizioso, with Karel Abraham 21st on his first day in Austria

Pull&Bear Aspar rider Álvaro Bautista was just 0.015 seconds off a top ten position on the opening day of the Grand Prix of Austria. The Spaniard clocked a best lap of 1’24.780, which was only seven tenths off the day’s pacesetter, factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso, and left him in eleventh position. Bautista was 21st in the opening session after only using one tyre, but dropped 1.2 seconds in the afternoon to close in on the top ten positions.

Karel Abraham completed his first laps of the Austrian circuit on a MotoGP bike this afternoon, having missed the return of the championship to this track in 2016. The Czech rider is satisfied with the set-up he found with his Ducati at this early stage, having ended just 1.3 seconds shy of Dovizioso after accumulating 36 laps over the two free practice sessions.

11th Álvaro Bautista 1:24.780 (34 laps): “This morning we tried to find a set-up for this circuit, which is very particular with the hard braking and acceleration zones. We tried to find a setting with as little wheelie as possible, getting the most possible power out of the bike. We only used one tyre this morning, which is why I was down on the timesheets, but the differences are small. We are working well and we know where to improve – in braking, for example, the front is locking in a few corners. We also need to take some steps forward with the electronics, to see if I can get some help stopping the bike, getting turned and improving traction and acceleration on the exit. Hopefully we get some good weather tomorrow to be able to move forward.”

21st Karel Abraham 1:25.369 (36 laps): “Unfortunately we didn’t get good weather today, and we needed it because everybody has ridden here before except me so I needed the laps. I like the track, it has some difficult and special corners and I am starting to learn the layout. It is a shame that there was the little shower before the second session that left some sections of the track damp. We managed a couple of laps and then came in to make some quite big changes to the set up. In the end I managed two exits – I got a tow on the first one and improve the lap time but then I did it again when I was riding alone. We are happy because we have found a set-up that is working and everything has gone quite well. Now we need to work out a plan for tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Octo Pramac Racing:

Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich – Red Bull Ring – Free Practices

Precious P9 for Scott in #AustrianGP FP2. In the time attack Petrux did not find grip on the rear.

The Friday’s free practices at the Red Bull Ring have given positive sensations to Octo Pramac Racing, despite the lack of feeling with the rear sof tyre, which did not allow Danilo Petrucci to be competitive in the FP2 time attack. On the other hand a very positive Friday for Scott Redding.

The English rider has started the FP1 in the best manner, by making a series of fastest laps that permitted him to find a good feeling already from the beginning. After the 8th lap time of the morning (only 2 tenth of a second behind the first row), Scott has repeated himself in the afternoon exploiting the soft tire in the time attack and ending with a lap time of 1’24.765 that means 9th place and hypothetical direct qualification to Q2.

Also Danilo Petrucci has started the Fp1 in a positive way and after the first run with the standard fearing, he tried the new version finding some good benefit (7th lap time). During the FP2 the feeling with the new fearing looked to be positive again and the race pace of the rider from Terni was very competitive. However, in the last run Petrux did not find extra grip with the soft rear tire, finishing in 14th position, only 76 thousandths of a second from the top 10.

14th – Danilo Petrucci – 1’24.935

“I don’t understand what happened in FP2. We need to check the data. In the middle of the practice, with the used tires, the pace was good. Then with the new tires I did not find any extra grip. It was a shame because I was happy with the bike this morning. The fearing? I felt some benefit in breaking even if in acceleration I continue to struggle with the wheelie. We have to work on this also because we have seen that Dovizioso has made positive steps forward”.

9th – Scott Redding – 1’24.756

“I am very happy about how things went today. I lapped fast from the start, finding a steady pace. After Brno I came back on track with the goal of improving lap after lap. Small things but if we combine them together can make important results. We focused on small details to improve. We also worked on the tires although when I tried the medium I felt the front locking. We will try again tomorrow”.

.

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

MOVISTAR YAMAHA GET UP TO SPEED IN SPIELBERG FP SESSIONS

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi kicked off the NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich today, securing 2nd and 13th place respectively in the combined free practice session times.

Spielberg (Austria), 11th August 2017

Due to looming clouds and a persistent threat of rain, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team had to make every dry minute of today’s free practice sessions count, ahead of this weekend’s NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich. Riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were fast to find their rhythm in the quite cool conditions, taking 2nd and 13th position respectively in the combined times.

This morning Viñales calmly prepared for Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, steadily upping his pace. He consistently posted lap times within the 1’25s, only to turn up the heat a notch on his last run in the final mini time attack. He set a 1’24.752s for fourth place, 0.121s from the front, making sure of a provisional spot in the top-10 in case of rain in the afternoon and tomorrow morning.

The young gun again displayed his patience before pouncing at the right moment in the afternoon session. A wet spot in turn 3 made it impossible for the riders to improve their time, despite the rest of the track being dry. Having seen this from his pit box, Viñales bided his time until, with 25 minutes of the available time left, the sun came out and the track was ready for action. The Spaniard was quickly on the pace and continued to work hard, concluding the session with a 1‘24.280s lap for second place, 0.234s from first.

Though not feeling 100% fit, teammate Rossi stuck to the same approach he had at the previous Grand Prix weekend. He worked diligently on his bike‘s setting in FP1, to be fully prepared for the qualifying tomorrow. Focusing on improvement, he ended the morning practice with a best time of 1’25.251s for 12th place, 0.620s from the top of the timesheets.

Once the track dried midway through FP2, the Doctor used the second session to fine-tune the balance of his bike, to match it to the Austrian circuit‘s layout and the expected weather variations for this weekend. The Italian rider pushed hard at the end of the session to improve on his morning time by 0.368s, posting a 1’24.883s lap, for twelfth position in the FP2 results. He ended the first day of practice in 13th place in the overall standings, 0.837s from first.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Considering that the Spielberg circuit is one of the more challenging tracks on the MotoGP calendar for us, today’s results are quite positive. It was a pity we lost some track time in FP2 because of a wet spot on track, but all in all our riders’ pace is good. We‘ve been quite productive. Today we were able to compare fairings, tyre specs – both front and rear –, and also different set-ups. The FP2 session ended up quite well for Maverick, with a significant second fastest lap time as well as a good pace. Although Valentino felt a little under the weather this morning, he had a strong rhythm with the race tyres in both sessions. When he went out for his time-attack in FP2 the decision to use the soft front tyre didn‘t pay off, but he still has FP3 to improve his lap time and promote directly into Q2. In general, there’s a margin for improvement for both riders’ bikes.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

We are really pleased, because we’re starting with a good feeling again. Today we did a really good job, I was feeling quite good on the bike. Especially after the Brno test we improved the set-up a lot. For tomorrow, I think it will be very important to work further on the electronics and also on the acceleration, which is really crucial here.

VALENTINO ROSSI

It wasn’t a very good day, we had some problems, especially this morning was a difficult practice. When I woke up this morning I also didn’t feel very well, I didn’t have energy, it felt like the flu, so this morning was difficult. This afternoon, unfortunately, in the end my position was not in the top-10, which was the target, but we improved the bike and we improved the feeling. We’re not strong, we need to make some other modification to try to be faster, but we’re all very close and we are there. We need to improve, but for tomorrow we have a lot of things to try. Braking is very important, but also acceleration. I suffer a bit on acceleration because I spin a bit too much and lose time. Also in sector 3, where last year I was strong, this year I am very bad because we don’t have the right balance of the bike, so for tomorrow we will try something different.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Andrea Dovizioso lies first and Jorge Lorenzo fifth at the end of the first day of practice for the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring

Both Ducati Team riders got off to a good start on the first day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at the Red Bull Ring near Zeltweg.

At the end of the day it was Andrea Dovizioso who headed the provisional timesheets with an unbeaten lap of 1’24.046, while his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished in fifth place, with a best time of 1’24.616.

The two Ducati men set their quickest times towards the end of the second FP2 free practice session, when the sun came out once again over the Austrian circuit, but even in FP1 in the morning they were both classified inside the top ten, with Dovizioso second and Lorenzo ninth.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’24.046 (1st)

“I’m very pleased with the way things went today and we couldn’t have had a better start to the weekend. The Ducati Corse engineers have done a really good job with the new fairing, which on this track is working very well, and we have managed to get close to the effect of last year’s winglets, confirming our speed in two different conditions, both this morning and this afternoon, when there wasn’t much grip. But now we have to work on some details because it’s the tyre wear that will make all the difference in the race rather than sheer speed, just like last year.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’24.616 (5th)

“Today we weren’t able to fully get the best out of the two free practice sessions because in the morning and the afternoon some parts of the track were still damp because of the rain that fell during the day. For this reason I’m not entirely satisfied, even though in the end we were fifth and our times are not so far from the front guys. With respect to last year, when the Ducatis made all the difference on this track, now our rivals have improved and the lap times are all pretty close, but if we succeed in finding a solution that allows me to brake with more confidence and stability I believe that tomorrow we will be considerably quicker.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich

MotoGP 2017 Round 11

Positive start to the weekend for the Repsol Honda Team at the Red Bull Ring Circuit

The opening day of the Austrian GP was marked by mild temperatures and mixed weather conditions which, as far as the MotoGP practices were concerned, allowed for a completely dry FP1 session and just spoiled the early stages of FP2; a previous light rain shower left damp patches in a few corners, meaning that Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, like the majority of the MotoGP riders, waited about 15 minutes before taking to the track.

As a result, the Repsol Honda riders were able to carry out positive work on the setup of their RC213Vs for the Red Bull Ring Circuit, both feeling comfortable all day. Dani set the third-fastest time both in the FP1 and FP2 sessions, while Marc was fifth-fastest in the morning and sixth in the afternoon (seventh combined), having chosen to not fit a new tyre at the end of the second session.

Dani Pedrosa 26

3RD 1’24.474

“Today we worked well. We thought we would have to deal with rainy conditions but luckily we were able to start in the dry, and overall we had more dry track time available than expected. We’re happy because the first feeling was good and generally we felt better than the last year. We still have work to do on the bike’s setup and on the mapping. We must improve our race pace and make a good tyre choice for Sunday, but so far we’re happy with how we started the weekend.”

Marc Marquez 93

7TH 1’24.649

“We’re satisfied with how it went today. We started the weekend with a completely different setup from last year and it worked quite well. We’ve definitely made a step forward with the acceleration and with the general settings of the bike. Of course we must wait and see how it goes tomorrow, as we have a few details we still need to work on. The others also will improve, but so far we’re happy with what we’ve done and with our race pace. At the end of FP2 I decided to continue with a used medium rear tyre in order to focus on preparing well for Sunday. The weather forecast shows possible rain conditions for tomorrow morning, but I decided to take that gamble because I wanted to prepare well for the Sunday race.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

 ALEIX ESPARGARÓ FAST ON THE FIRST DAY IN AUSTRIA

EIGHTH PLACE FOR THE SPANIARD IN FP2, SAM LOWES IMPROVING

Practice conditioned by the weather has by now become a constant factor of recent MotoGP rounds. Even in Austria, the first day began on dry asphalt but under looming clouds which obviously influenced the teams’ plans.

Aleix Espargaró, not entirely at ease in the early laps of FP1, continued working on the setup for his RS-GP throughout the session, using only one set of tyres and without ever attempting the final time attack in view of qualifying as almost all the other riders on the track did. His fifteenth place time in FP1 therefore did not worry the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, a sensation that was confirmed by Aleix’s outstanding performance in FP2. After the rain, the Austrian track dried out progressively during the second session, allowing him to improve his time by almost one second. His 1’24.726 earned him ninth place in the combined standings and provisionally sends him straight through to Q2 tomorrow.

There was a lot of work for Sam Lowes, skilfully shaving off almost a half a second from one session to the next and eighteenth in the combined standings with a time of 1’25.270.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“I am happy with the way we finished the day, because this morning I did not have a good feeling with the RS-GP. Especially in braking, so much that we decided to try a big change in the geometry. Precisely for this reason, I did not use a soft tyre at the end of FP1, finishing quite far back in the standings. Fortunately, in the afternoon we had a dry track to work with, reconfirming the bike’s improvements and gaining provisional access to Q2. I also tried the aerodynamic fairing. On this track, where wheelies are a problem, I found some benefits that we will continue to test.”

SAM LOWES

“Things did not go too badly for the first day. I improved on the 2016 Aprilia times and that is a first important step for me. The first half of FP2 was a bit difficult because of the track conditions, but toward the end we had dry asphalt and a good temperature, continuing to do a lot of work on the bike. I had fun. At the end of the day we got close to the top ten times, so I am feeling optimistic about tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:

Solid start for Barbera and Baz in the opening day in Austria

Reale Avintia Racing rider Hector Barbera had a strong start to the Grand Prix of Austria today. In the morning, he was the fastest rider on track and his feelings with his Ducati Desmosedici GP16 were very good. In the afternoon, with the track drying out after a short downpour right before the start of the session, Barbera lost a few position. But the Spaniard hadn’t pushed for a fast lap and concentrated instead on refining the race set-up of his bike. The Reale Avintia Racing rider, who finished sixth in the combined free practice times, used only Michelin’s medium option rear tyre in FP2, because he wanted to keep the soft ones for tomorrow’s qualifying.

Loris Baz’s was just 0.3s slower than his teammate Barbera today, but the session was incredibly close with 16 riders in one second, which relegated the Frenchman to 14th in the combined time sheets.

The goal for both riders tomorrow will be passing to Q2, which is crucial to get the best possible position on the grid for Sunday’s 28-lap race.

Hector Barbera | 1’24.631 | P6

“It was a positive first day. In the first session we finished on top and this afternoon we have focused on the race set-up, using the medium rear tyre to work on the race pace and my feelings with the bike. Step by step, we were able to get some useful information. We did not use our soft tyres, because we wan to keep them for tomorrow. But I’m calm. I did 1’25.2 easy with the medium compound. In the combined times of the day, we finished sixth and I think the team has done a good job. We have to take advantage of a track that is suited well to my style and the Ducati. Tomorrow it will be important to move to Q2 and continue to prepare Sunday’s race.”

Loris Baz | 1’24.925 | P14

“At this track, everything is always really close, but overall I think that the first day was good. The bike works pretty well and I need to improve my feelings from Brno where the bike was difficult to turn. Here we have that problem in two corners, but we’re progressing in the right direction. We finished close to the top 10, but I went slightly long in one corner on my hot lap and I lost one tenth of a second. But I’m happy because we are working in the right direction and towards the race. Tomorrow we have to try to get straight in Q2 to get the best possible result in qualifying.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:

ENCOURAGING PROGRESS FOR FIRST DAY IN AUSTRIA

Team Suzuki Press Office – Aug 11.

Andrea Iannone: 17th – 1’25.218 +1.172

Alex Rins: 22nd – 1’25.452 +1.406

The first day of practice at the Austrian GP demonstrated the development work started in Monday’s testing in Brno. Riders Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins were able to benefit from the new settings and continue to focus on the race preparation, albeit without proper attempts to the time attack. At the end of the today’s session Iannone is in 17th place in the combined classification (1’25.218), while Rins is in 22nd (1’25.452).

In the morning session, the technical progress made in Brno’s testing paid off immediately, with both riders consistently improving in their performances. Iannone worked hard with medium tyres to pull off a good pace and set his best time at 1’25.608, earning him 14th position in classification, the last of the 14 riders closing in on the one second gap. Rins for his part made the most of the session by getting familiar with the track, managing to make consistent progress while putting his GSX-RR in 23rd place with 1’26.014.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“With Andrea we managed to further improve the machine, continuing on from the positive work we did on Monday in Brno. The settings gave him more confidence. In the afternoon we focused on race pace and the times have been pretty positive and consistent. Moreover, we wanted to test a further setting modification; when Andrea decided to come in for the time attack it was quite late and we decided not to change the front tyre but only the rear, in order to save time in the garage and give him more time on track. We couldn’t then properly take advantage of the rear soft tyre this time. We are happy of the pace and we still have room for improvement in the classification. Alex consistently improved as well; he’s finding his own pace which is good for him. This is his first time on this track that is pretty peculiar, so having made some progress is a positive sign. Tomorrow we will try to finalize a good setup as quickly as possible, one that would allow him to improve his position.”

Andrea Iannone

“The test in Brno gave us some improvements, but overall we’ve been improving since the beginning of the year. Today I felt positive, especially considering that we only went with a medium tyre and we didn’t try the time attack with the soft. In the afternoon the pace was good with worn tyres. Tomorrow it will be important to take advantage of the soft tyres. Today we tried a new one only at the rear and not at the front, which means we can still improve. We also still have some margin in the setup. We are improving and I think tomorrow we can aim at getting direct access to the Q2 and also hope for a top ten qualifying.”

Alex Rins

“This is a very distinctive track compared to the others. I think we can improve a lot in different areas of the circuit. We especially have a lot of margin to improve in the braking where I’m losing the most time in a lap. Anyways, it is just my first day here and I’m trying to find out how to achieve the best performance. We are working really hard and I think tomorrow we can get a step ahead.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Dovizioso comes out fighting on Friday

Ducati rider fastest on Day 1 at the Red Bull Ring

After just being pipped to the post in FP1, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) hit back in the afternoon at the NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as action ended in a shootout, coming out on top by two tenths to keep Ducati’s stranglehold on the venue. Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was second quickest after a late lap, ahead of Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa as the number 26 impressed on Day 1.

FP1 was dry and topped by Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing) by a few thousandths ahead of Dovizioso, after the Italian exceeded track limits on what had been his fastest lap. A shootout also ended that session as doubts about the weather circulated, with provisional qualification to Q2 at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But FP2, despite beginning with some damp patches, soon dried out – and the majority of the field made good use of the good conditions to improve their times.

Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was another threat for the top in the latter stages of FP2, and the French rookie ended Day 1 in fourth – very much in line for entry to Q2 should the bad weather return for FP3. Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) was another big hitter in the second session of the day, and the ‘Spartan’ completed the top five after taking four tenths off his morning’s best.

Hector Barbera was one who didn’t go faster in FP2, and the Spaniard is therefore seventh on the combined timesheets with his laptime from the first session – only 0.015 off Lorenzo. Behind him was reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who was seventh quickest on Day 1 and only a further 0.018 behind Barbera. Marquez also had a run off in FP2, but remained upright and got back on track.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) kept the incredibly tight timesheets taught in P8, just 0.019 off seventh, ahead of a solid first day for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) completed the top ten, edging out Pull&Bear Aspar Team’s Alvaro Bautista.

P12 was another incredible performance from Pol Espargaro as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing take part in their first home Grand Prix, ahead of nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) – the biggest name who could be at risk of heading through Q1 should the weather set in on Saturday morning. Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) locked out the fastest fifteen.

FP3 is the last chance to go straight through to Q2 and gets underway at 9:55 (GMT +2), with qualifying underway from 14:10.