Marc Marquez asserted his authority in second practice ahead of the Argentine Grand Prix, lapping a full second quicker than the rest of the field. The reigning champion was quick early in FP1 before dropping down the order but as the times tumbled in FP2, Marquez stretched away from his rivals.
Marquez hit the front five minutes into the session and was never headed from there, lowering the benchmark time from a 1:40:440 to a 1:39.425 in the latter stages to ensure teammate Dani Pedrosa stayed in a distant second place. Despite his dominance, Marquez sounded a note of caution and expects the competition to be closer tomorrow.
“It was a fun day, it is always interesting to learn all the different corners and their secrets at a new track and the practice sessions go by more quickly. Maybe the day was affected by the first session, in which we sacrificed putting in a fast lap in order to keep the same tyre on during the entire session. That was to enable us to keep more tyres for the remainder of the weekend. This afternoon we were able to have a more normal practice session and the track had improved a lot. The tyre durability also seemed much greater than before, and I think that it will continue improving as the weekend goes on. I am happy with how this first day went and with the base that we have. We shall continue working in the same way, as we are aware that tomorrow’s times will be much closer”.
Aleix Espargaro finished as best of the rest in third after edging out Stefan Bradl in the last minute of the afternoon while Andrea Dovizioso claimed fifth despite an early engine blow-up ahead of a quartet of Yamahas, led by Bradley Smith. Pol Espargaro finished seventh, half a tenth shy of his teammate, while the Movistar teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo could only manage eighth and ninth respectively.
 2014 G.P. RED BULL DE LA REPUBLICA ARGENTINA – FREE PRACTICE 2 CLASSIFICATION |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | RIDER | MOTORCYCLE | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 |  MARC MARQUEZ |
HONDA | REPSOL HONDA TEAM | 1:39.313 |
| 2 | DANI PEDROSA |
HONDA | REPSOL HONDA TEAM | 1:40.396 |
| 3 | ALEIX ESPARGARO |
FORWARD YAMAHA | NGM FORWARD RACING | 1:40.566 |
| 4 |  STEFAN BRADL |
HONDA | LCR HONDA MOTOGP | 1:40.891 |
| 5 |  ANDREA DOVIZIOSO |
DUCATI | DUCATI TEAM | 1:41.042 |
| 6 |  BRADLEY SMITH |
YAMAHA | MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3 | 1:41.303 |
| 7 | POL ESPARGARO |
YAMAHA | MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3 | 1:41.368 |
| 8 | VALENTINO ROSSI |
YAMAHA | MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP | 1:41.395 |
| 9 | JORGE LORENZO |
YAMAHA | MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP | 1:41.533 |
| 10 | ANDREA IANNONE |
DUCATI | PRAMAC RACING | 1:41.924 |
| 11 | ALVARO BAUTISTA |
HONDA | GO&FUN HONDA GRESINI | 1:42.029 |
| 12 |  YONNY HERNANDEZ |
DUCATI | PRAMAC RACING | 1:42.128 |
| 13 |  KAREL ABRAHAM |
HONDA | CARDION AB MOTORACING | 1:42.348 |
| 14 |  COLIN EDWARDS |
FORWARD YAHAMA | NGM FORWARD RACING | 1:42.608 |
| 15 | NICKY HAYDEN |
HONDA | DRIVE M7 ASPAR | 1:42.621 |
| 16 | HECTOR BARBERA |
AVINTIA | AVINTIA RACING | 1:42.739 |
| 17 |  BROC PARKES |
PBM | PAUL BIRD MOTORSPORT | 1:42.827 |
| 18 | MICHELE PIRRO |
DUCATI | DUCATI TEAM | 1:42.898 |
| 19 | DANILO PETRUCCI |
ART | IODARACING PROJECT | 1:43.106 |
| 20 |  MIKE DI MEGLIO |
AVINTIA | AVINTIA RACING | 1:43.125 |
| 21 | MICHAEL LAVERTY |
PBM | PAUL BIRD MOTORSPORT | 1:43.151 |
| 22 | SCOTT REDDING |
HONDA | GO&FUN HONDA GRESINI | 1:43.165 |
| 23 |  HIROSHI AOYAMA |
HONDA | DRIVE M7 ASPAR | 1:43.347 |
