Andrea Iannone beats Jorge Lorenzo to top practice two in Italy

ByAutoSport

Updated 20/05/2016 at 16:12 GMT

Andrea Iannone capped a week in which his departure from Ducati and move to Suzuki was confirmed by setting the fastest time in second practice for MotoGP's Italian Grand Prix.

Andrea Iannone of Italy rides

Image credit: Reuters

Iannone will leave Ducati at the end of the season to make way for the incoming three-time champion Jorge Lorenzo, but quickly secured a 2017 move to Suzuki to replace Maverick Vinales.

He responded by beating Lorenzo to top spot on Friday afternoon by nearly half a second at Mugello.

The session was the first in dry conditions for the weekend, following a rain-affected opening practice on Friday morning.

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Iannone set the early pace with a 1m48.413s lap, 0.008 seconds up on Lorenzo, and those times were still the benchmarks when Scott Redding jumped to the top with seven minutes to go.

Lorenzo was back on top before long with consecutive laps of 1m48.322s and 1m48.157s on his Yamaha, but Iannone saved his best for last, recording a 1m47.696s with less than 30 seconds left on the clock.

The Italian's final margin over Lorenzo was 0.461s, with Michele Pirro - a wildcard on a third factory Ducati - third, having followed Lorenzo during his best lap.

Aleix Espargaro was fourth for Suzuki, ahead of Valentino Rossi and Honda's Marc Marquez, the trio having all moved up the order late.

Pramac Ducati's Redding wound up eighth, joined in the top 10 by fellow satellite riders Cal Crutchlow and Pol Espargaro.

Dani Pedrosa, whose new two-year deal with Honda was announced during the week, was 11th, while Andrea Dovizioso, picked by Ducati to partner Lorenzo next year, was 13th.

Eugene Laverty was the only rider to crash during the session, coming unstuck at San Donato but rejoining the session on his spare bike on his way to 19th.

Loris Baz's session was also interrupted at the end of the front straight, but when his Avintia Ducati stopped with an apparent mechanical problem early on. The French rider finished at the foot of the times.

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