Andrea Dovizioso tops timesheets after two practice sessions at San Marino MotoGP

ANDREA Dovizioso has splashed his way to the top of the time sheet at the end of two wet practice sessions ahead of the San Marino MotoGP.

Italy's Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati Team sits in the pit area during the free practice session ahead of the San Marino Moto Grand Prix at the Misano world circuit in Misano Adriatico on September 12, 2014. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE

ANDREA Dovizioso has splashed his way to the top of the time sheet at the end of two wet practice sessions ahead of the San Marino MotoGP.

The first session was riddled with crashes as heavy overnight rain, followed by drizzle in the morning, made for treacherous conditions around the Misano circuit.

Colombia’s Yonny Hernandez initially led the way with a time of one minute 50.310 seconds on his Ducati, finishing 1.639 seconds clear of reigning champion Marc Marquez.

Only Dovizioso on the works Ducati was able to better Hernandez’s time in the second session, as there was no improvement in the weather.

On home soil, and on an Italian bike, Dovizioso at least warmed up the crowd with a lap of 1min 49.195 secs, and that was on his replacement bike as he had crashed earlier.

Andrea Dovizioso was quickest in San Marino.

Dovizioso finished a respectable 1.161 secs and 1.324 secs ahead of Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Marquez, who can take a step closer to retaining his title with another win this weekend.

Marquez is currently 89 points clear of Pedrosa after winning 11 of the 12 rounds to date, with Valentino Rossi a further 10 points off the pace.

Rossi could do no better than 10th on his Yamaha, finishing 2.5 secs back on Dovizioso, and a second down on fourth-placed compatriot Danilo Petrucci, riding for the small Ioda team on his Aprilia.

Dovizioso’s teammate Cal Crutchlow was 11th, with Scott Redding 12th for Honda Gresini and Bradley Smith 18th, 4.5 secs adrift on his Tech 3 Yamaha.