Styrian MotoGP, Austria - Free Practice (2) Results

Aprilia's Lorenzo Savadori surprises with the fastest Free Practice 2 lap at the Styrian MotoGP in Austria, as afternoon rain means the Friday morning times remain unbeaten.

With further bad weather forecast this weekend all riders took to the track, an instant fall for Lecuona at turn one on his out-lap illustrating the tricky nature of the conditions at a track where many riders have expressed safety concerns in the rain.

Lecuona made amends by going fastest soon after, before Marc Marquez took over at the top just before the middle stages.

A dry line then developed, with Savadori moving to the top before Jack Miller was typically the first rider to fit slick tyres in the final five minutes. But the conditions were not good enough for the dry rubber and Savadori remained quickest.

Miguel Oliveira, who underwent medical checks after a nasty highside this morning, made only a brief appearance this afternoon due to pain in his hand, pitting without completing a flying lap.

Dani Pedrosa, who retired from MotoGP at the end of 2018, is returning to action this weekend as a wild-card entry for KTM, where he is employed as an official test rider.

Pedrosa won 31 races during his premier-class career, spent entirely with Honda, and was the top KTM on Friday in eleventh despite a technical issue in FP1.

Cal Crutchlow is also back in MotoGP, for the next three rounds, as a replacement for the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha. A three time MotoGP race winner, Crutchlow signed up as Yamaha's official test rider after retiring from MotoGP at the end of last season.

Valentino Rossi announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2021 season.

The back-to-back Austrian events will be the first since the start of the Covid pandemic without special restrictions in place for spectator numbers.

* Rookie

CLICK HERE for the full FP1 results 

Fastest FP1 time:
Takaaki Nakagami JPN Honda 1m 23.805s

Official Red Bull Ring MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 23.027s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati 1m 23.827s (2019)