Terol starts Misano weekend at the front

Nico Terol was the quickest 125cc rider off the mark in the opening practice session at Misano on Friday as the Bancaja Aspar set the best time of the hour on his Aprilia. A lap of 1’44.229 from the Spaniard was enough to take top spot on the timesheet by a margin of 0.252s ahead of Championship leader and rival Marc Márquez.

Terol is going for his third consecutive win this weekend whilst Márquez is aiming for his first victory since Sachsenring, with the two separated by just four points in the standings. The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider, who leads the title chase, was just over two-tenths faster than Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) who trails Terol by a single point going into the weekend. He was the final rider under 1’45”.

Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) had led the session briefly and his time of 1’45.007 placed him fourth, and he had a minor technical glitch towards the end. Podium finisher at Indianapolis Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) was fifth, with Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) and Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) sixth and seventh respectively. The British rider will be aiming to considerably reduce the 1.209s gap that stood between him and his team-mate in first.

Completing the top ten for the session were Racing Team Germany’s Tomoyoshi Koyama, Andalucia Cajasol’s Danny Webb and Stipa-Molenaar Racing’s Randy Krummenacher.