Action was incredibly close for Moto2™ on Day 1 at MotorLand Aragon, as Sam Lowes' (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) morning quickest was hit back in the afternoon by Idemitsu Honda Team Asia rider Takaaki Nakagami. With Tom Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) in close company behind, the three men had been split by only five thousandths until the Japanese rider's final attempt saw him edge clear - but by less than a tenth. On combined times, the gap between P1 and P3 is incredibly less than a tenth.
MotorLand had a dry but overcast Friday in conditions usually reserved for venues further north in Europe, and most of the Moto2™ field improved their times in the afternoon. Sam Lowes was one of those who didn't, but was only two hundredths back on his best in the second session, and remained within a minuscule 0.065 of Friday's eventual fastest Nakagami. Lowes is now P4 in the title fight after his DNF last time out, and has nothing to lose as he pushes to take back the top spot.
Garage Plus Interwetten rider Luthi in P3 was the man on the move between FP1 and FP2, as the Swiss veteran and former 125 world champion sliced off nine tenths from his FP1 best to move up on the combined timesheets by the end of the day. Jonas Folger (Dynavolt Intact GP) in P4 was only a tenth off Nakagami's last dash best but with his time from FP1, with Misano's maiden winner Lorenzo Baldassari (Forward Racing Team) completing the top five with an improvement of almost a second.
Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) saw his initial FP2-leading efforts pushed back to P6 by the end of the day, with Speed Up Racing's Simone Corsi in close company by another tiny margin. Reigning world champion Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) was P8 with a small improvement from FP1 to FP2 in an under-the-radar session for the Frenchman, ahead of 2014 Moto3™ world champion Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in P9. Axel Pons (AGR Team) completed the top ten as another rider enjoying another home round on Spanish soil.
Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) had the toughest Day 1 at MotorLand of the key title players, as the man second in the standings moved down from a top ten finish in FP1 to end the day in P14. With a much improved collarbone injury and only three points down on Zarco, however, the Spaniard is sure to push back up the timesheets again on Saturday at his local track.
Moto2™ head back out for battle in FP3 at 10:55, before qualifying at 15:05 local time on Saturday. Click here for full results from Day 1.