Australia’s Remy Garner set the pace on the opening day of Moto2 testing at Jerez.
The Onexox TKKR SAG rider set his scorching 1’40.848 in the final session of the day to top the timesheets, with an impressive Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) slotting into second but 0.269 down.
Perennial title challenger Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) was the only other rider to get within half a second of Gardner, taking P3.
Behind the quickest trio came reigning FIM CEV Moto2™ European Champion Edgar Pons (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) to make it a Kalex top four lockout, the Spaniard sitting 0.587 off Gardner.
After an impressive private test, rookie Aron Canet (Aspar Team) began the Official Test in fine form too as the Spaniard finished P5 on Day 1 with a 1:41.439 - the top Speed Up and rookie.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Tetsuta Nagashima, who gets on the team’s new Kalex chassis with previous experience, was fifth, ahead of an impressive first run out for MV Agusta Forward Racing’s Simone Corsi, with the Italian veteran less than half a tenth off Nagashima, in P7.
The second-fastest Speed Up on Day 1 was 2019 Jerez podium finisher Jorge Navarro (Speed Up Racing) in P8, with Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) splitting Navarro from his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was tenth.
Navarro is also the man whose pole lap from 2019 is the lap record time Gardner beat on Day 1, so there’s likely plenty to come from the field yet. But it was nevertheless a competitive start to the season for the intermediate class, with under two seconds splitting the top 25 riders.
