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Second free practice was halted with a red flag at Buriram. Several riders crashed without injury at the Chang International Circuit, namely Aleix Espargarò, Andrea Iannone, and Xavier Simeon, but it was Lorenzo's crash that left debris on the track, his Ducati Desmosedici breaking into a thousand pieces and the #99 rider transported swiftly to the medical centre. After being carefully examined, it appears that he has not suffered any additional fractures, after that sustained at Aragon.
The Ducati team are looking into the dynamics of the accident. It is thought that an electronics issue caused the engine to cut out, though the strange high-side the rider suffered while braking casts doubt onto the cause of the crash. Davide Tardozzi has stated that initial analysis has not revealed any technical issue with the bike.
Once the track was clean, battle recommenced: Andrea Dovizioso made the most of his Ducati and the hard Michelin tyres, powering his way to the front with a time of 1'31”090; unbeatable in acceleration, Dovi's GP2018 is also quick in the changes of direction through the central part of the track, the chassis set up helping the rider to turn and deliver the power of his Bolognese V4 to the ground.
Maverick Vinales also proved very fast in both of the day's sessions. He doesn't have the M1 with its new aerodynamic configuration but was nevertheless the quickest Yamaha today, closing just 0.031 of a second from #04.
The Honda RC 213V in third place is that of Cal Crutchlow, while Marc Marquez used a hard front and soft rear tyre to finish fourth, less than a tenth from Dovizioso.
Danilo Petrucci finished in fifth place, Andrea Iannone, despite a crash in the early stages, takes sixth on the factory Suzuki GSX-RR.
Alvaro Bautista, in his last MotoGP season, also proved fast. The Spanish rider finished ahead of several factory riders, setting the seventh quickest time on the same tyres as Marquez, with a hard front and soft rear.
Dani Pedrosa lies eighth, Valentino Rossi with his fully-winged Yamaha is ninth, and Johann Zarco rounds out the top ten on the Tech3 M1. He is followed by Jack Miller, Franco Morbidelli, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Rins. Lorenzo was lying sixteenth when a serious crash stopped him in his tracks, a crash for Aleix Espargarò leaves him in seventeenth place.
