Fernandez tops an all-action FP1 for Moto2™

Moto2™ World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) has set the pace in a particularly dramatic FP1 session at the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Fernandez set a 1:34.704 before rain flags began to be waved around Phillip Island and while Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) was able to go quicker in the final minute, his lap time of 1:34.505 would not count due to the presence of a yellow flag at Doohan Corner (Turn 1). The official top five was Fernandez, Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) on a 1:34.778, Dixon on a 1:34.840, Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) on a 1:34.970, and Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) on a 1:35.001.

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), who trails Fernandez by just 1.5 Championship points with three races to go, was 16th-fastest on a 1:35.876. A former Championship leader, Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was classified just 25th after he crashed following contact when Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) rode down his inside at the ‘MG’ corner (Turn 10), an incident which stewards were set to investigate. Vietti’s teammate Niccolo Antonelli also had a spill, at Turn 4 in the latter minutes of the session, before Jeremy Alcoba’s (Liqui Moly Intact GP) crash at Doohan Corner (Turn 1) which brought about the red flag that cost Dixon his lap time. Then, right at the end, Sean Dylan Kelly (American Racing) crashed at MG, with his bike nearly collecting Marcel Schrötter's (Liqui Moly Intact GP).

Earlier, the session had been red-flagged within four minutes after a remarkable opening, which included separate offs at or coming out of Southern Loop (Turn 2) for Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW Racing GP), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), and Alessandro Zaccone (Gresini Racing Moto2™). Acosta looked to have been blown off the race track, a theory which was given greater credibility when Vietti had something similar nearly happen to him at Lukey Heights (Turn 9), but the reason for the stoppage was the dirt dragged back onto the track as a result of a spill for Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) at the exit of Stoner Corner (Turn 3).

Will we see even more action this afternoon? FP2 starts at 15:10 (GMT +11) – tune in then!

Moto2™ FP1 Top 10:
1. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:34.704
2. Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2) + 0.074
3. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.136
4. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.266
5. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.297
6. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) + 0.314
7. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 0.346
8. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.583
9. Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.591
10. Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.642

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS!