VNE Snipers’ Tony Arbolino ended the opening session of the Pramac Generec Australian Grand Prix fastest, which was held in extremely testing conditions as the wind and rain arrived at the Phillip Island circuit. Conditions are the polar opposite of the sunshine that blessed the circuit on Thursday with heavy rain continuing to fall throughout the morning.
???? @TonyArbolino copes best with the conditions to top #Moto3 FP1!
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) October 24, 2019
The @SnipersRacing set the best lap time early on before the weather deteriorated! ????#AustralianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/5V98pRCcuC
As a result of the tricky conditions, a handful of riders slipped off, fortunately without injury, during the session. Gaviota Angel Nieto Team’s Albert Arenas crashed out at Turn 4 and then again at the Southern Loop (Turn 2), SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Niccolo Antonelli had a fast crash at Turn 8, Kömmerling Gresini Moto3’s Ricardo Rossi suffered a strange crash after running wide at the Southern Loop, whilst Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alonso Lopez and Mugen Race’s Andrea Migno also fell victim to the Southern Loop.
World Championship leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing), who will be crowned Moto3™ King this weekend if he scores three or more points than his nearest rival Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), started his weekend as he would’ve hoped by ending second quickest. Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) made it an all-Italian top three by ending third fastest, a second adrift of teammate Arbolino.
Conditions are treacherous out there! ????@_Nicco23 loses control at the Hayshed while 2018 winner @AlbertArenas75 has also taken a tumble at Turn 4! ????#AustralianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/FSWiUWHedN
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) October 24, 2019
Rounding out the top five were two men who are normally ones to watch in the wet, CIP Green Power’s Darryn Binder and Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee. Can either the South African or the Scotsman challenge the Italians at the top of the timesheets in FP2 later today at 13:15 local time (GMT+11)?
Top 10:
1. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) – 1:48.024
2. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) + 0.740
3. Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) + 1.061
4. Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) + 1.324
5. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 1.458
6. Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) + 1.671
7. Andrea Migno (Mugen Race) + 2.265
8. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 2.301
9. Riccardo Rossi (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) + 2.740
10. Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) + 2.927
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