Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo sets pace ahead of Japanese MotoGP
Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo lapped fastest in practice on a crash-filled Friday ahead of this weekend's Japanese MotoGP as Dani Pedrosa fractured his collarbone in a nasty high-speed spill.
Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth quickest for Honda but much of the focus was on the unfortunate Pedrosa, who decided to fly back to Spain for surgery after a heavy fall in Friday's afternoon session.
He will be replaced by test rider Hiroshi Aoyama, according to his team.
Yamaha's Lorenzo clocked 1min 45.151sec in cool and dry conditions at Motegi, followed by Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, who lapped 0.053sec slower with rising Suzuki star Maverick Vinales third.
"The bike is working quite well and I'm in good shape, so I'm very motivated to make it a good race," Lorenzo said.
Marquez suffered a minor fall in the afternoon as he tested the limit of the hard front tyre at the hairpin but was still good enough for fourth, while his closest championship rival Valentino Rossi was seventh.
"We are very close," said Spain's double world champion. "At the moment Lorenzo is the fastest guy. But me, Vinales, Valentino, Dovizioso. We more or less have the same pace."
Along with Pedrosa, Eugene Laverty of Aspar also suffered a nasty crash at turn six.
Both men managed to walk to the circuit's medical centre. Laverty decided to seek further tests at a local hospital, while Honda decided to send Pedrosa home.
Marquez will claim his third MotoGP title in Japan on Sunday if he wins and Rossi finishes 15th or lower and if Lorenzo comes in fourth or worse.
With four more races to go, Rossi is battling to close a 52-point gap against Marquez, who has never won at the Motegi circuit but his second-place finish in 2014 secured that season's championship.
Sunny weather is expected for the Sunday race, which kicks off three weekends of successive races in an Asian "triple-header", which also takes the riders to Australia and Malaysia.
The championship could still go to the wire at the season finale back on Marquez's home soil in Spain after a topsy-turvy season that has yielded eight different grand prix winners so far.