Lopez back on top in FP3 at Aragon

Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up) has set the pace FP3 for the Moto2™ class at the Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragon. Victorious a fortnight ago at Misano, the newest Grand Prix race winner found himself on top of the timesheet again after clocking a 1:52.180 on Saturday morning at MotorLand Aragon. World Championship leader and future MotoGP™ rider Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished second by the end of the session, ahead of Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40). Former Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was out of Q2, then in, then back out, all in the space of the minutes after the chequered flag, and will have to advance from Q1 if he is to vie for pole position – as will Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia).

Less than a tenth separates the top four

Lopez had been sitting 10th as riders went for time attacks in the final minutes of FP3 and therefore could well have been somewhat nervous about getting through to Q2, before he fired in his 1:52.180. Still the 20-year-old must have thought he had more in him because, no sooner had he crossed the line to set that lap time, he was venting his frustration about Marcos Ramirez (MV Agusta Forward Racing) going down at Turn 1 and triggering a yellow flag, meaning Lopez’s next lap would not count. It mattered not in the end, with previous fast man Fernandez staying second on his 1:52.267.

At one point, just 0.009 seconds separated Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mates Fernandez and Pedro Acosta, and that was still the case once the session was done. However, Canet – who dusted himself off from a crash at Turn 2 at the halfway mark – split them with the chequered flag out by setting a 1:52.269, meaning it was a top four covered by less than a tenth of a second. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who was first to go better than Canet’s Friday benchmark, claimed fifth on a 1:52.413 by the end of the session. Rounding out the top 10 were Jake Dixon (Shimoku GASGAS Aspar Team), Fermin Aldeguer (CAG Speed Up), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), and Albert Arenas (Shimoku GASGAS Aspar Team).

Who else made Q2?

Also through to Q2 already are Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), and Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™). Making life harder for World Championship contender Ogura, he was first on the outside at just 0.048 seconds slower than Salac. Then there was Vietti, who was just 24th before he jumped to 13th with the chequered flag out, 14th once Gonzalez crossed the line in his slipstream, then back to 26th once he lost his lap time for breaching track limits at Turn 13 – an unlucky number for the man on Bike #13 this time around.

Can Ogura and Vietti join the fight for pole? Q1 starts later on Saturday at 15:10 (GMT +2)!

Moto2™ Combined Top 10:

1. Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up) – 1:52.180
2. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.087
3. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 0.089
4. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.096
5. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.233
6. Jake Dixon (Shimoku GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.247
7. Fermín Aldeguer (CAG Speed Up) + 0.284
8. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.347
9. Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40) + 0.460
10. Albert Arenas (Shimoku GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.500

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