Morbidelli heads Lüthi as rain interrupts play in Spielberg

Moto2™ FP1 was interrupted by a dramatic downpour, but a fully dry FP2 gave the field one good session of time on track at least. In the final minutes, it was points leader Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who hit the top, taking over from key title rival Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) by only 0.031 seconds. Another key frontrunner, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo), was third.

Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) was a crasher in FP2 – rider ok – but takes fourth overall from his best lap, ahead of an impressive performance from Isaac Viñales (BE-A-VIP SAG Team) to complete the top five. Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) was sixth on combined times and fastest rookie.

Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was seventh quickest from his FP2 time, and the rider from Cervera made some headlines in FP1 after a crash in the wet session that saw his bike collect Dynavolt Intact GP replacement rider Danny Kent – both riders ok and Marquez quick to apologise. FP1 saw more than ten incidents in the tricky and drenched track conditions, with a host of riders sliding out at Turns 1 and 3 – two of the hardest braking points on the track - including Marquez and teammate Morbidelli.

Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) was another crasher in the morning but eighth by the end of action, ahead of Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), who locked out the top ten.

Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) was P11, ahead of Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) in P12. The Swiss rider was also in the top three in the morning, ahead of the deluge. Luca Marini (Forward Racing) followed up his best ever result in Brno to begin the Austrian GP in thirteenth, ahead of Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) and Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), who crashed twice on Day 1.

Moto2™ qualify from 15:05 (GMT +2).

For full results, click here!