Dani Pedrosa - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Dani Pedrosa moved ahead of teammate Casey Stoner on Friday afternoon as Honda totally dominated on home turf at Motegi. The works RC212V machines locked out the top four places with Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli also showing a strong turn of pace.
Simoncelli led early on, becoming the first rider to go quicker than the benchmark time from FP1, clocking a 1:47.188. Stoner shrugged off a mistake which forced him to run through the gravel at turn 11, going a tenth quicker at the end of his first run.
The times tumbled even further when Pedrosa returned to the track as the Spaniard set a 1:46.818, before shaving another tenth on his next lap. That would prove good enough to lead the quartet of Hondas although Stoner brought the gap down to 0.054s in the closing stages.
Dovizioso was a tenth and a half back in third while Simoncelli shrugged off his morning crash to take fourth. Jorge Lorenzo was the best of the rest, albeit half a second off the pace in fifth but his problems paled in comparison to teammate Ben Spies.
The American has been battling with illness since arriving in Japan and aborted the session after just six laps. For the record, Spies was 14th fastest but ended the session undergoing check-ups in the medical centre.
Behind Lorenzo, Nicky Hayden led the Ducati challenge once again after matching the Yamaha pace while home favourite Hiroshi Aoyama finished a solid seventh ahead of the second GP11.1 of Valentino Rossi.
Hector Barbera was ninth quickest ahead of Colin Edwards while Tech3 teammate Cal Crutchlow was 13th after finding a second on his morning time.
Grand Prix of Japan: Free Practice 2 Classification:
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Bike | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 1:46.790 |
| 2 | Casey Stoner | AUS | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | +0.054 |
| 3 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | +0.162 |
| 4 | Marco Simoncelli | ITA | Honda | San Carlo Honda Gresini | +0.398 |
| 5 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Yamaha | Yamaha Factory Racing | +0.520 |
| 6 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Ducati | Ducati Team | +0.591 |
| 7 | Hiroshi Aoyama | JAP | Honda | San Carlo Honda Gresini | +0.995 |
| 8 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Ducati | Ducati Team | +1.185 |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | SPA | Ducati | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | +1.265 |
| 10 | Colin Edwards | USA | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | +1.286 |
| 11 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Suzuki | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | +1.307 |
| 12 | Randy de Puniet | FRA | Ducati | Pramac Racing Team | +1.584 |
| 13 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | +1.589 |
| 14 | Ben Spies | USA | Yamaha | Yamaha Factory Racing | +1.777 |
| 15 | Toni Elias | SPA | Honda | LCR Honda MotoGP | +1.953 |
| 16 | Karel Abraham | CZE | Ducati | Cardion AB Motoracing | +2.515 |
| 17 | Kousuke Akiyoshi (WC) | JAP | Honda | LCR Honda MotoGP | +2.674 |
| 18 | Shinichi Ito (WC) | JAP | Honda | Honda Racing Team | +2.883 |
| 19 | Damian Cudlin | AUS | Ducati | Pramac Racing Team | +4.559 |
