SKY Racing Team VR46’s Luca Marini left it until his final lap of the session to jump to the top of the timesheets in the opening Moto2™ session of the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley. The Italian’s 1:52.514 is exactly one second adrift of the fastest ever intermediate lap around Mugello set by Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) back in 2015.
Le Mans winner Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) ended second quickest, just 0.041 of a second adrift of Marini, proving the Spaniard looks likely to continue his French form in Italy this weekend. Class rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio impressed in third place, making him the first of the MB Conveyors Speed Up machines.
The Italian job! ????@Luca_Marini_97 tops FP1 here in Mugello with a last minute fast lap! ????#ItalianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/YT0L8cHEHj
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) May 31, 2019
Dynavolt Intact GP’s Thomas Lüthi closed the session fourth quickest, only 0.042 seconds behind Di Giannantonio, but 0.321 off of Marini’s benchmark lap time. Rounding out the top five was Mattia Pasini in only his second GP aboard the Petronas Sprinta Racing Kalex.
Aiming for a fourth consecutive podium this weekend, MB Conveyors Speed Up’s Jorge Navarro appears to be in contention once again after finishing the session sixth overall, a quarter of a second clear of ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Remy Gardner. The Australian was spectacularly on the limit throughout the session, and although nobody crashed, he was certainly the closest to after a big moment halfway through.
A shake and a wiggle for @GardnerRemy as he makes his @SAGRacingTeam Kalex dance
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) May 31, 2019
I have a feeling he may be asking a little too much of that mass damper on the swing arm ????#ItalianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/7YkNWMDYyE
Gardner’s teammate Tetsuta Nagashima was only 0.004 of a second behind in eighth place, after the pair were following each other out on track for a sustained period. Rounding out the top ten were Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jorge Martin and Italtrans Racing Team’s Andrea Locatelli.
Championship leader Lorenzo Baldassarri said in yesterday’s press conference he was 100% fit after disclosting his shoulder in Le Mans, but the FlexBox HP40 rider could only manage 19th overall in the first session of his home Gran Prix.
Top 10:
1. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) 1:52.514
2. Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.041
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 0.279
4. Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.321
5. Mattia Pasini (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.349
6. Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up) + 0.412
7. Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) + 0.664
8. Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) + 0.668
9. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.686
10. Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.704
Click here for results!