Bastianini bolts to the top on Friday in Aragon

Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) ends Friday at the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragon as the fastest rider in the Moto3™ field after setting a 1:58.418 to go 0.235 faster than second place Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider), with Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) jumping up to third on his final lap – 0.380 off top spot.

Bastianini ended FP1 in eighth place, but the number 33 Honda rider looked in supreme form after setting consecutive fastest laps towards the end of FP2, eventually setting his best time on his final lap as Rodrigo maintained his P2 from FP1 to round off a very solid opening day for the Argentine rider.

Bulega topped the session in the opening stages after finishing ninth in FP1, with the Italian displacing Championship leader Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) for third at the end of the FP2 session – the Spaniard setting his lap times on his own to finish fourth on the combined timesheets. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) rounds out the top five on Friday after finishing the morning session outside the top 20, with Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) stringing a strong last run together to claw himself up the combined timesheets to fifth – the Spaniard still suffering from an injury picked up in the five-rider Misano crash.

Misano winner Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) ends the opening day at MotorLand Aragon in seventh, with Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider) eighth fastest – a strong day for the Japanese rider who finished sixth in FP1. The morning’s pacesetter Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) was the only rider in the top 20 who failed to improve his time in the afternoon, ninth overall for the Czech rider after a crash in FP1, with teammate Marco Bezzecchi rounding out the top ten.

The lightweight class will be back on track for FP3 first thing on Saturday before qualifying begins at 12:35 local time (GMT +2).

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