Ducati takes charge in second practice

While pre-event favourite Ducati played second fiddle to Suzuki's Maverick Vinales in first practice, it did not take long for its factory bikes to take control of the second session.

Iannone's first flying lap of 1m25.732s was a tenth up on Vinales' morning benchmark, and by the end of their first runs, Iannone was down to a 1m24.470s, 0.070 seconds ahead of Dovizioso and 0.388s clear of Vinales.

Both Ducati pilots waited until the closing minutes until running fresh rubber including the softer of the rear tyres, by which time they were split by Vinales while Yamaha's Valentino Rossi was also within 0.124s in fourth.

But that advantage was soon stretched.

Iannone recorded a 1m23.885s to go 0.661s clear of the pack with one minute remaining, with Dovizioso then firing in a 1m23.617s.

As Ducati looks to end a winless run dating back to October 2010, when Casey Stoner won the Australian Grand Prix, Dovizioso wound up 0.238s clear of Iannone.

Vinales was the best of the rest in third, 0.854s off the pace, with fourth-placed Rossi the only other rider within one second of Dovizioso.

LCR's Cal Crutchlow was the best of the Honda riders in fifth, 1.071s adrift.

Championship leader Marc Marquez was 10th but did not use the softer rear tyre, while his factory Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa was only 19th and 2.515s off the pace, struggling in cool conditions following his morning accident.

Danilo Petrucci and Hector Barbera in sixth and seventh and Michele Pirro in ninth made it five Ducatis inside the top nine.

Jorge Lorenzo was as high as fourth late in the session but fell to eighth at the end having, like Marquez, not run the softer rear tyre.

Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro crashed early at Turn 8, exiting the infield section.

On his second bike he completed an installation lap, but returned to the garage and then went to the trackside mobile clinic for x-rays on his left hand, and did not return to the track.