Remy Gardner headed rookie Raul Fernandez for a KTM lockout as the Moto2 FP3 action got underway at Barcelona this morning.
Securing the standings with a 1’43.446, the Australian led the way by a mere 0.021s from his Ajo teammate with Augusto Fernandez maintaining his strong run of home form, in third place. The second Marc VDS of Sam Lowes secured direct entry to this afternoon’s CatalanGP Q2 after a ninth place finish despite an early crash with fellow Brit Jake Dixon forced to fight through Q1 having completing the final practice in 21st.
A nasty highside at turn four got Fabio Di Giannantonio’s morning off to the wrong start as the Italian’s difficult Barcelona weekend continued in the opening minutes of FP3, Lowes suffering a similar fate at turn 10 as the Marc VDS folded mid-corner on the Brit’s P1-worthy, fourth lap.
His teammate, Augusto Fernandez, held the session after the first 10-minutes, already improving on the overall best thanks to a 1’43.588, with Bo Bendsneyder doing likewise in second. Marcel Schrotter, Marcos Ramirez and Lowes controlled the top-five with Friday’s pace setter Raul Fernandez sitting sixth in the session’s standings. Marco Bezzecchi, Tony Arbolino, Xavi Vierge and Hector Garzo completed the top-10 while Ai Ogura, Gardner, Aron Canet and Somkiat Chantra held the final promotion places with 25-minutes still to run.
The KTM’s were back on form as the session continued, finding third and fourth with their ninth laps before the majority of the grid returned to the pits at the halfway stage. Albert Arenas taking his shot at promotion as he advanced to 12th before he too headed for pitlane.
Lowes returned to action with 13-minutes remaining while the Gresini team continued to work on Di Giannantonio’s machine. The Brit sitting sixth in the session and fourth overall before the final hot-laps began to register. Ogura’s session ending early at turn four as VR46 Master Camp wildcard Keminth Kubo also found the limit and the Thai rider was sent to the medical centre for check-ups.
A quiet start for Joe Roberts culminated with an attack on the top-10 in the closing seven-minutes as Fernandez’s KTM joined his namesake at the top of the standings once again and Di Giannantonio finally got back on track.
Gardner was the next to strike, deposing his teammate for second as Bezzecchi rose to fifth and Vierge found seventh before the Australian flew into the lead with a 1’43.446, taking Fernandez with him for a KTM one-two.
Canet was on a charge as the clock ticked down, improving to fourth as his Aspar teammate sat on the precipice in 14th while Tom Luthi’s last personal best lap faded in the second half with the Swiss rider unable to advance from 15th. Arenas looked to be safe before Lorenzo Dalla Porta arrived in the dying seconds, claiming 13th and depositing the rookie out of the promotion zone.
