Source: Supplied.

After Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ruled FP1 at Valencia over four tenths clear, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) hit back in the afternoon to take the provisional top spot for much of the second session of the day.

In the final few minutes of the day’s track action however, Lorenzo hit back to go quickest once again, six tenths faster than his best of FP1 and two tenths quicker than his 93-numbered rival.

The morning session was cooler, with the afternoon bringing the air and track temperatures up considerably – and the paddock hosted by uninterrupted blue skies.

Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) moved up the timesheets in the sunnier afternoon session from P6 to end Friday P3 on combined times, with Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) moving up one place from fifth in FP1 to fourth on Friday as the home crowd hit back to take control at the top.

Winner last time out Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) ended the Spanish dominion at the top in fifth by the end of play, despite the Circuit traditionally being more difficult for the Ducati.

Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was another improver as he moved from P7 in FP1 to P6 in the afternoon, just ahead of the second Ducati Team machine of Andrea Iannone in seventh.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi was second quickest on Friday morning despite a problem on an out lap, but was eighth by the end of FP2 and over seven tenths down on teammate Lorenzo’s best.

Another Italian followed the ‘Doctor’ home, as Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) ended day one in ninth, after teammate Scott Redding had also been in the top 10 in the morning.

Starting slow as he comes back from injury, Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was 22nd after his first few laps on track in FP1 – and then ended the session in P12.

Gaining confidence and pace, the Pedrosa upped the ante further in FP2, and rounded out the top 10 in an incredibly impressive Friday performance despite his ongoing recovery from a broken collarbone sustained in Motegi. Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda’s Jack Miller was 14th overall.

The KTM RC16 ended its debut day down the timesheets and was three seconds down in FP2, but within a second of both Loris Baz (Avintia Racing) and Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS).

Test rider Mika Kallio is at the helm for the one off appearance ahead of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team lining up full time in 2017, and cut half a second off his best from FP1.

FP3 decides final direct entry to Q2 qualifying on Saturday, with Lorenzo leading the way in blue – for the last time.

Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) is looking for his first win in Moto2 and the Italian got off to the best start in his quest to complete that goal before the end of the 2016 season as he topped Friday’s timesheets.

Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was second quickest and a tenth down in FP2, but it was Garage Plus Interwetten rider Tom Lüthi, who was second by the end of play after topping FP1, with Nakagami taking third overall.

Gresini Racing Moto3 rider Enea Bastianini returned to competition in style at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, as the Italian topped the timesheets on his comeback from injury.

Caught up in an incident during the Australian GP that saw him crack a vertebra, Bastianini went quickest by the end of his first day back on the grid as he fights to defend his second in the standings from key rivals Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Francesco Bagnaia (Pull&Bear Aspar Mahindra).

The superstars of FP1 proved to be RBA Racing Team duo Juanfran Guevara and Gabriel Rodrigo as the two took a one-two in the morning, before Guevara finished the day in second with Rodrigo completing the top 10. Rookie of the Year contender Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) had another good session in the afternoon to end Friday in third.