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After crossing the line, he raised his left fist. It might only be the second free practice session, but Andrea Iannone has made it clear he's not compromising at Mugello. The Abruzzo rider definitely couldn't have envisaged a better start, which saw him set a best of 1’47”696 in the final stages of the afternoon's session. Last year he had to settle for second place on the podium, now he's clearly aiming higher, a position occupied by Jorge Lorenzo (+0.461) in 2015.
The Spaniard is lurking however, albeit at something of a distance for now, with the Yamaha rider almost half a second from the Italian, suffering in the final sector. The positive news for the local riders doesn't end with Iannone, as another stand-out today was Michele Pirro (+0.541). Riding the third Ducati at the team's home event, the rider from Puglia places between the Majorcan and Aleix Espargarò (+0.574) on the first of the two Suzukis.
Marc Marquez was playing catch-up in FP2, forced to settle for fifth place, just 0.020 behind his fellow countryman. The same applies to Valentino Rossi (+0.644). Despite lying in sixth place, the Doctor is losing precious time at the Buccine. Only 0.005 behind the Italian is his future teammate, Maverick Vinales.
Top ten also for Redding (+0.710) ahead of Crutchlow's LCR Honda and the Tech3 Yamaha of Pol Espargarò. Just eleventh for Daniel Pedrosa (+1.017), more than a second from the frontrunner, followed by Danilo Petrucci (+1.056) and Andrea Dovizioso (+1.120). A tough start to the weekend for the latter, due to a neck problem. 14th for Hernandez, the fastest in FP1. A crash, without consequence, for Laverty and some engine problems for the Ducati of Loris Baz.
