Rain or shine, the Austrian Grand Prix keeps delivering close timings. After a rain shower hit the track this morning, Free Practice one started in a wet track, which was drying throughout the session and made the riders head out on slicks in the final 15 minutes. Free Practice two went on to be a full dry session, whereby the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team duo managed to improve a lot.
Andrea Dovizioso, who is a huge fan of the Austrian venue as it bears many good memories for him, started out with a great 10th position in FP1 this morning. Yet in the afternoon, he found himself back in P18. The Italian improved by 1.368 seconds from the first to the second session and was missing out on the top by just 0.802 seconds as the premier class field is ultra-close at the 4.3-kilometer track.
At the same time, Darryn Binder had not just needed to learn the new chicane in sector one, but also the entire layout on the big bike today, which wasn’t easy due to the mixed conditions in FP1. Yet he went 3.497 seconds faster in FP2 compared to this morning, reducing the gap to the front significantly to 1.738 seconds.
While the weather forecast remains uncertain for Saturday and Sunday, Free Practice three is set to begin at 09:55 local time, followed by FP4 at 13:30 local time and Qualifying one and two at 14:10 and 14:35.
