Marc VDS’ Augusto Fernandez set the fastest Moto2 time around the Assen TT Circuit on Friday as rain disrupted afternoon practice for the Dutch GP.

The Elf-sponsored rider’s 1’36.744 - set on his penultimate lap of the morning - held off the dominant KTM pairing of Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner in the overall times with both Jake Dixon and Sam Lowes claiming provisional spots on Saturday’s Q2 battle.

Hector Garzo bettered the ruling Spaniard in the afternoon session with rain preventing any threat to the combined standings.

Bo Bendsneyder looked determined to impress at his home GP as the intermediate class kicked off its opening practice, heading the early standings before Raul Fernandez and Tony Arbolino took charge next time around. Marco Bezzecchi and Lowes sat third and fourth after four laps of the TT circuit with the Brit’s Marc VDS teammate raising the bar thanks to a 1’37.896 one lap later.

Gardner joined the fun, in second, with his next effort before Arbolino demoted him almost instantly to join Fernandez in the 1’37’s. His KTM namesake bettered them both on lap seven to sit four-tenths clear at the top, with Bezzecchi setting an identical replica of the Elf-rider’s time moments later.

The pace continued to heat up as the session hit the halfway stage. Dixon taking an off-track excursion after a moment at turn five with the Brit sitting 11th in the standings, one ahead of Joe Roberts. Somkiat Chantra and Tom Luthi advanced to fifth and sixth respectively with Stefano Manzi and Fabio Di Giannantonio trailing Arbolino and Lowes at the edge of the top-10.

One Fernandez replaced the other as the Marc VDS rider again took charge on his 12th attempt, the Spaniard bettering himself with his next effort - a 1’37.093 - as Jorge Navarro joined his compatriot at the head of the times and the majority of the pack returned to the pits. Roberts, one of the few to remain on track, advanced to fifth while Bendsneyder suffered a technical issue with his Mandalika SAG, from 21st, as the closing 12-minutes got underway.

The morning’s last five minutes saw Gardner up to second as Manzi found seventh, Di Giannantonio claiming the position next time around as Tom Luthi hit the deck on a personal best lap.

Chantra continued to shine as he claimed third with just over two minutes to go, Navarro hitting back almost immediately as he returned to second before the Fernandez duo were back to lockout the standings. Final efforts saw the Marc VDS man improve once again as he took the session with a 1’36.744, the KTM’s sitting 0.143s back as Gardner consolidated third from his rookie teammate.

Navarro retained fourth from a late-charging Simone Corsi with Chantra heading Bezzecchi, Manzi, Roberts and Di Giannantonio in the top-10. Dixon claimed 11th from Arbolino and Lowes with Aron Canet completing the early top-14.

A dry morning gave way to a sodden afternoon as the rain descended for FP2. Dixon led the initial times as the first hot laps registered with Bezzecchi taking over at the top from Canet and Roberts - rumours circulating once again of Aprilia’s interest in the American for next year’s vacant MotoGP seat.

Canet was back in charge as he advanced the times by well over a second, to a 1’50.308, with Lowes sitting 2.5s adrift, in sixth, after 10-minutes of action. Celestino Vietti was the first to suffer with the conditions as the session reached the mid-point, the Sky rider sliding out at the opening corner as Navarro stopped at turn nine with a technical issue on the same lap. Cameron Beaubier became the next victim of turn one five minutes later after touching the white line and wiping out his American Racing Kalex.

Bezzecchi improved with a 1’48.6 on his 10th lap of the afternoon. Canet, Roberts and Dixon maintaining their grip on the Italian, with the Brit circulating just half a second back before he took charge himself next time around. Roberts and Dixon were separated by just 0.007s as the pair continued to tussle for superiority despite the challenging conditions before countryman Lowes took over with a ’48.2.

Roberts was back on form as he leapfrogged the British pair, just 0.05 ahead of Lowes, before Garzo slid into second 0.001s ahead of the Marc VDS machine and Nicolò Bulega went faster again.

The closing five minutes allowed further improvement as a dry line began to appear, Canet taking his turn in second as Bulega entered the pits with championship leader, Gardner, and Ajo teammate Fernandez, sitting 19th and 22nd respectively.

Morning hero, Fernandez, returned to the top of the standings as the final minute clicked down, half second clear of the rest of the field, before Garzo bettered the Spaniard in the closing seconds to take the session with a 1’47.617. Bulega, Canet and Roberts sat top-five at the end of FP2 with Lowes heading at the Petronas duo of Dixon and Xavi Vierge, Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio completing the top-10.