Marini takes first blood in Jerez

Italian less than a tenth clear of Navarro as the Moto2™ riders completed FP1 at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España

SKY Racing Team VR46’s Luca Marini has taken first blood at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España in the Moto2™ class, a 1:41.410 enough to place the Italian 0.048 clear of second-fastest Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up). Marco Bezzecchi made it two SKY Racing Team VR46’s in the top three despite recovering from a broken ankle.

It was the first time the Moto2™ riders had been in competitive action since they took the chequered flag at the Qatar Grand Prix, and it was Marini who looked comfortable from the off. Both the SKY VR46 bikes are looking in great form this weekend, but Marini’s nearest challenger on Friday morning came from the Speed Up of Navarro as the leading duo sat three tenths clear of the rest.

Despite their advantage, 0.9 seconds covers the top 21 riders in Moto2™ ahead of FP2. It’s as close as it’s ever been and it was Championship leader Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) sitting P4, with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) completing the top five.

There were two crashers in FP1, Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) having a strange-looking tumble at Turn 3, with the experienced Tom Lüthi (Liqui Moly Intact GP) going down at Turn 1 towards the end of the session – the latter headed to the medical centre for a check-up.

Tune in for Moto2™ FP2 at 15:10 local time (GMT+2) in Jerez!

Top 10:
1. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) – 1:41.410
2. Jorge Navarro (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) + 0.048
3. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.315
4. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.326
5. Marcel Schrotter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 0.342
6. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.371
7. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.375
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (HDR Heidrun Speed Up) + 0.450
9. Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) + 0.472
10. Hafizh Syahrin (Inde Aspar Team Moto2) + 0.478

Click here for the full results!

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