Remy Gardner took charge in Friday’s Moto2 practice by a mere 0.007s after Sam Lowes had led the way for the majority of MotorLand Aragón’s action.
The now familiar battle saw Augusto and Raul Fernandez squabble for second and third less than a tenth adrift of the Australian, with Fabio Di Giannantonio and Lowes completing the top five as the two 40-minute sessions concluded.
Lowes took charge as soon as the morning practice ignited on Friday, 1’53.674 the opening shot with his Elf Marc VDS team-mate Augusto Fernandez following closely behind in second. Raul Fernandez began his home campaign in strong form, despite showing visible discomfort with his injured right hand, circulating third ahead of Jorge Navarro and fellow KTM Ajo rider Gardner. A turn 13 jolt exacerbating the situation as he returned to the garage.
Marco Bezzecchi claimed the position as the session continued, Gardner improving to fourth with Di Giannantonio demoting the rookie to sixth after the opening 15-minutes of action.
Fernandez was back out on track in the closing 10-minutes, Albert Arenas heading Navarro in seventh as Simone Corsi, Fermín Aldeguer, Xavi Vierge and Aron Canet held off Joe Roberts and
Marcel Schrotter on the edge of the top 14.
John McPhee began his debut Moto2 experience circulating four-seconds off the pace as he got to grips with his Petronas Kalex machine from the back of the field, just eight-tenths adrift of the closest rider.
The closing five-minutes saw Hafizh Syahrin advance to sixth before Navarro improved overall, 1’53.365 now the target time as the Speed Up topped the standings. Bezzecchi splitting the Marc VDS pair, from third, as Di Giannantonio headed the KTM’s in championship order, from fifth.
A late-session crash found Canet in the dust at turn 12 in the penultimate minute, Aldeguer advancing to eighth with Hector Garzo and Arenas demoting Syahrin and Vierge out of the top 10 in the final seconds.
The injured Fernandez sat out of proceedings as the afternoon fired back up. Lowes initially taking control before Bezzecchi arrived to top both the session and the combined times with only his third lap. Schrotter improved on a quiet morning to take third as FP2 got up to speed with Gardner and Corsi on his wheels.
Di Giannantonio claimed third as the fourth laps came in, Lowes retaking his place at the top from the Sky VR46 machine on a 1’53.005.
The Brit continued to fine-tune his times as the session continued with 1’52.971 now the time to beat. Corsi improving to sixth as Augusto Fernandez headed Navarro, Vierge and Roberts in the top 10.
McPhee continued to make progress as he circulated in 29th, 2.3s adrift of his countryman with Cameron Beaubier, Xavi Cardelus and Piotr Biesiekirski behind.
Marcus Ramirez circulated on a quiet track during the mid-session lull, the American Racing rider advancing to sixth then third as he made his way to within four-tenths of the overall target.
The closing 15 minutes saw Navarro down a turn 14, from 11th in the standings, Celestino Vietti doing likewise at turn seven. Aldeguer continued to impress as he pushed his way into the top four before Fernandez and then Gardner advanced the overall pace.
Di Giannantonio was the next to better Lowes, as he found third, Nicolo Bulega sitting sixth as the clock began to wind down with Canet and Garzo improving on the fringes of the top 10.
KTM’s Fernandez joined the action in the closing stages, circulating ninth and half a second away from the afternoon’s target before he looked to strike. The rookie found third with his eighth effort, just a tenth off his teammate despite the broken bone in his little finger.
A late final corner crash brought McPhee down in the Petronas machine, with three minutes to go, after the Scotsman ran wide and clipped a bump in the run off sector.
The Australian claimed the session and the overall standings thanks to his 1’52.743 from the Fernandez duo, with Di Giannantonio and Lowes completing the usual big-hitters in the top five.
Arenas, Bezzecchi, Bulega, Aldeguer and Ramirez rounding out the top 10 from Canet, Garzo and Schrotter. Bo Bendsneyder sat 14th in FP2 with Navarro behind with the Dutchman missing out on provisional Q2 contention due to the Spaniard’s morning time.
A disappointing session found Vierge down in 18th ahead of Roberts and Forward Racing substitute Manuel Gonzales with McPhee finishing his first day in 31st.
