EG 0,0 Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes finished a shade ahead of Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) in the opening Moto2™ Free Practice session at the BMW M Grand Prix of Styria. A 1:28.733 for Lowes saw the British rider sit just 0.016 quicker than Gardner, with last Sunday’s race winner Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) third fastest in FP1.
Session complete and it's a major sense of déjà vu! ????@samlowes_22 tops FP1 at the Grand Prix of Styria just as he did last week! ????#Moto2 | #AustrianGP ???? pic.twitter.com/HjPoL9dvj8
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) August 21, 2020
The sun shone for FP1 as the intermediate class proved once again just how competitive the field is in 2020. Lowes’ time was a tenth off the Red Bull Ring lap record, with Lowes down to 24th place Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) covered by 0.986 as the riders got back down to business on familiar territory. Italians Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) completed the top five in FP1, 0.117 covering the leading quintet.
Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) crashed unhurt at Turn 1, with injured Hafizh Syahrin being replaced by Alejandro Medina in the Openbank Aspar Team ranks.
FP2 for the Moto2™ riders gets underway at 15:10 (GMT+2).
Top 10:
1. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) – 1:28.733
2. Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR SAG Team) + 0.016
3. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.060
4. Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 0.081
5. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.117
6. Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.118
7. Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.137
8. Aron Canet (Openbank Aspar Team) + 0.187
9. Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.318
10. Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 0.476
Click here for the full results!