Pons’ Aron Canet took charge of Portimao’s Moto2 test as he led the times with a 1’42.681 lap on Friday.

After three 70-minute stints at the 4.6km Algarve International Circuit, the Spaniard’s second session effort was enough to hold court for the remainder of the day, Red Bull KTM’s Pedro Acosta and Albert Arenas slotting in fractions behind to lock out the top three in the combined standings.

Elf Marc VDS’s Sam Lowes had taken charge with a 1’43.245 on his seventh lap of the final session, maintaining control as the clock counted down but it wasn’t enough for outright honours and his earlier 1’43.064 effort placed him fourth overall. Teammate Tony Arbolino had initially joined the Brit in the FP3 top two before Canet and Yamaha Master Camp’s Manuel Gonzales split the pair, just 0.007 and 0.07 respectively behind with the VR46 rider ultimately sitting ninth, with Arbolino tenth, as the day concluded.

A strong early afternoon showing saw Pertamina Mandalika SAG’s Bo Bendsneyder fifth from Fieten Olie’s Barry Baltus with Celestino Vietti and Speed Up’s Fermin Aldeguer rounding out the top ten.

GasGas Aspar’s Jake Dixon circulated on near identical pace across the day’s three outings, his 1’43.614 best concluding the day 13th overall while American Racing rookie Rory Skinner kicked off his Moto2 account with a 1’45.736 lap, placing him 28th.

Portimao Moto2 test Friday combined times

1 40 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 KALEX 1’42.681
2 37 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo KALEX 1’42.703 0.022
3 75 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo KALEX 1’42.970 0.289
4 22 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS KALEX 1’43.064 0.383
5 64 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG KALEX 1’43.125 0.444
6 7 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP KALEX 1’43.144 0.463
7 13 Celestino Vietti ITA Fantic Racing KALEX 1’43.194 0.513
8 54 Fermín Aldeguer SPA CAG SpeedUp BOSCOSCURO 1’43.227 0.546
9 18 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Yamaha VR46 Master Camp KALEX 1’43.319 0.638
10 14 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS KALEX 1’43.323 0.642
11 35 Somkiat Chantra THA Idemitsu Honda Team Asia KALEX 1’43.456 0.775
12 12 Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini KALEX 1’43.539 0.858
13 96 Jake Dixon GBR GasGas Aspar KALEX 1’43.614 0.933
14 3 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP KALEX 1’43.725 1.044
15 21 Alonso Lopez SPA CAG SpeedUp BOSCOSCURO 1’43.765 1.084
16 19 Lorenzo Dalla Porta ITA Pertamina Mandalika SAG KALEX 1’44.053 1.372
17 84 Zonta VD Goorberg NED Fieten Olie Racing GP KALEX 1’44.112 1.431
18 52 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini KALEX 1’44.120 1.439
19 15 Darren Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP KALEX 1’44.306 1.625
20 24 Marcus Ramirez SPA Forward FORWARD 1’44.314 1.633
21 11 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 KALEX 1’44.415 1.734
22 72 Borja Gomez SPA Fantic Racing KALEX 1’44.418 1.737
23 16 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing KALEX 1’44.685 2.004
24 71 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing KALEX 1’44.899 2.218
25 4 Sean Dylan Kelly USA American Racing KALEX 1’45.402 2.721
26 5 Kohta Nozane JPN Yamaha VR46 Master Camp KALEX 1’45.659 2.978
27 98 David Sanchis SPA Forward FORWARD 1’45.673 2.992
28 33 Rory Skinner GBR American Racing KALEX 1’45.736 3.055
29 28 Izan Guevara SPA GasGas Aspar KALEX 1’46.689 4.008