In the afternoon session, lap times significantly improved compared to the earlier FP1, with Jorge Martin breaking the previous lap record set by Francesco Bagnaia last year. Martin clocked in at 2m01.397s, beating the previous record of 2m01.892s. The Pramac rider, leading the standings by 18 points, outpaced Maverick Vinales on the factory Aprilia by 0.076 seconds, securing the top spot.
Marc Marquez, a seven-time COTA race winner, secured the third position with a late 2m01.806s on his year-old Gresini Ducati. Bagnaia managed to elevate himself into Q2 safety late in the session, finishing fourth. Initially, Martin set the pace with 2m04.429s, which was surpassed by Enea Bastianini with 2m04.208s, followed by Pedro Acosta with 2m03.578s, and eventually reclaimed by Martin with 2m03.036s.
Vinales, equipped with a new soft rear tyre, briefly claimed the top spot with a 2m02.983s, but Martin quickly regained dominance with a 2m02.888s. Vinales reclaimed the lead again, followed by Fabio Di Giannantonio, but Martin set a new lap record of 2m01.397s with just under 13 minutes remaining. Vinales attempted to challenge this time on his final lap but fell short by 0.076s, ending with a time of 2m01.473s. Marquez secured the third position.
Pedro Acosta clinched the fifth position, the sole KTM rider in the Q2 spots, with Brad Binder, the next-best RC16 rider, in 14th place. Aleix Espargaro finished sixth on the factory team Aprilia, with Franco Morbidelli securing his first Q2 appearance as a Pramac Ducati rider. Bastianini, Di Giannantonio, and Marco Bezzecchi completed the top 10.
Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez narrowly missed out on Q2 spots for home team Trackhouse Racing’s debut at the Americas GP, while Fabio Quartararo led the Yamaha contingent in 17th place. A late-session crash for Joan Mir left him in 20th place, with Johann Zarco leading the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) representatives in 19th place.