A 1:40.326 – a new Moto2™ lap record – in the penultimate session of the Jerez Test saw Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) top the combined timesheets at the end of the three days. Marco Bezzecchi’s (SKY Racing Team VR46) Thursday time sees the Italian take P2 in Andalucia, 0.122 behind Lüthi, with Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Nicolo Bulega completes the top three.
On the third and final day at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, a total of 20 intermediate class riders improved their times from the opening couple of days as the sun shone once more. Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) was first out on track to get as much mileage on the board as possible, with him and the team doing less private testing that most of the other riders, while they spent most of Wednesday testing Kalex’s more “radical” 2020 chassis. The five-time race winner finished P14 overall after getting his lap time down to a 1:41.137 on Day 3.
Also on Day 3, Speed Up were seen testing a new front aero package, a big change to what we’ve seen from Speed Up in the past. Characteristically their riders have always suffered in terms of top speed, so it’s likely we’ll be seeing this breaking cover a lot more at the Qatar Test in one week’s time.
Casting back to the overall times and it was Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Tetsuta Nagashima who claimed P4, the Japanese rider improving on the final day to sit 0.344 off Lüthi’s benchmark. The impressive Aron Canet (Aspar Team) rounded out he top five as the Spanish rookie continues to seamlessly acclimatise to life as a Moto2™ rider. Canet ends the test as the leading rookie and non-Kalex rider – a job well done for the 20-year-old.
Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge finishes 0.066 off compatriot Canet in P6 with a best time of 1:40.776, with fellow Spaniard Jorge Navarro (Speed Up Racing) claiming seventh. Both he and teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio finished under half a second off Lüthi’s lap record, the Speed Up duo sit slightly ahead of Day 1 pacesetter Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) and tenth best – and riding wounded – Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo).
⏱️1:40.776 - @XaviVierge was third fastest at the end of the second Moto2 practice today! ????@PET_Motorsports#PETRONASmotorsports | #SepangRacingTeam | #MotoGP | #XV97 | #Moto2 | pic.twitter.com/W6sTvITtHb
— PETRONAS SRT (@sepangracing) February 21, 2020
The Moto2™ riders and teams will be putting in more hard graft over in Qatar on the 28th February - 2nd March, before the season proper gets underway on the 6th-8th March at the Losail International Circuit.
Top 10 combined days:
1. Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) – 1:40.326
2. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.122
3. Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.335
4. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.344
5. Aron Canet (Aspar Team) + 0.384
6. Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.450
7. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up Racing) + 0.483
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up Racing) + 0.490
9. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) + 0.522
10. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.581
Click here for the results from all three days!