Austria – EL2: Zarco leads a Ducati hat-trick before the rain

Although the Styrian sky was still very threatening, the day finally passed without rain... or almost. A few drops fell at the very end of the session during Free Practice 2, on the Spielberg circuit. All the drivers then went out on the track 8 minutes from the end of the session, to set a good time for qualifying. In this game, it was Johann Zarco (Pramac) who came out on top. The Frenchman was the fastest, setting a time of 1'29″837 and leading a Ducati triple, ahead of Jack Miller (Ducati) and Jorge Martin (Pramac).

A crazy end to FP2! 😅@JohannZarco1 leads a top 10 covered by less than 3 tents and the top 19 are covered by 8 tents! 🤯#AustrianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/RO0Q4RupEb

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 19

The end of the session was very hectic with the onset of rain. With the uncertainties surrounding the weather for Saturday, all the drivers tried to place their horses in the top 10 to go directly to Q2. Behind the leading trio, fabio quartararo (Yamaha), 4th, is drowned out by 7 Ducatis in the top 8! The gaps are even extremely small since only 3 tenths separate Johann Zarco, first, and Aleix Espargaró, 11th.

In addition to the top 4, the virtual qualifiers in Q2 are Bagnaia, Marini, Bezzecchi, Bastianini, Vinales and Brad Binder. Several drivers were trapped by the new chicane at Turn 2 and shot straight ahead, still unaccustomed to the new trajectory. Francesco Bagnaia cut through the gravel while Raul Fernandez (Tech3) fell there. Another KTM, that of Miguel Oliveira, also went to ground in turn 9, without gravity.

The ranking of Free Practice 2: 

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