The track temperature soared in Practice 2 meaning the riders were unable to improve on their Practice 1 times as the track became slower. This left Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) at the top of the standings after a dominant display in P1 meant his 1:50.928 was the fastest lap time of the day. Celestino Vietti (Fantic Racing) kicked off his home GP in P2, 0.196s shy of the top spot with Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) rounding out the top 3.
Rory Skinner (American Racing) crashed out of the session with 25 minutes remaining, and with his bike stranded in the middle of the circuit the red flags were forced to come out. The bikes headed back out on the circuit but with the riders making little improvements on their P1 lap times.
Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) joined his teammate inside the top 4. Mattia Pasini (Fieten Olie Racing GP) put in an impressive display to round out the top 5 as he makes another return to the Moto2™ grid in a wildcard appearance with the Fieten Olie Racing GP squad.
Quite a moment for the Championship leader! ⚠️@TonyArbolino pulled off a great save but had to take a short trip to the grass before rejoining the track ????#ItalianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/YZvnT3OKxP
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 9, 2023
Acosta's Championship rival might be on top of the Championship standings but Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) could only manage P8 on Day 1 in Mugello, just ahead of his teammate Sam Lowes who suffered a small off in P1.
Moto2™ will be back in action on Saturday for Practice 3 at 9:25 and qualifying at 13:45 local (GMT +2).
Top 10:
1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:50.928
2. Celestino Vietti (Fantic Racing) + 0.196
3. Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) + 0.265
4. Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) + 0.318
5. Mattia Pasini (Fieten Olie Racing GP) + 0.437
6. Filip Salač (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) + 0.699
7. Jake Dixon (Autosolar GASGAS Aspar M2) + 0.886
8. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.902
9. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.945
10. Dennis Foggia (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.949