Roberts on record pace to lead Qatar Moto2 FP2
Joe Roberts has produced a new circuit record in Moto2 at the Losail International Circuit to top Friday practice ahead of the 2020 opener.
Augusto Fernandez had been the long-time FP2 leader until the late time attacks arrived in the closing minutes of the session which saw Roberts put himself top of the pile with a new circuit record of 1m 58.421s – going almost a full tenth of a second faster than Jorge Navarro at last week’s pre-season test at the Qatari track.
The evening session turned into a nightmare for FP1 timesheet-topper Thomas Luthi who crashed twice, initially on his opening flying lap at Turn 14 before going down again in the closing minutes at Turn 2, leaving the Liqui Moly Intact GP rider near the bottom of the times in FP2. Luthi has been taken to the medical centre as a precaution following his second fall of the session.
But FP2 provided a breakthrough for rookie Marco Bezzecchi on the Sky Racing Team VR46 as he surged to second place with a 1m 58.669s to go fractionally ahead of team-mate Luca Marini in third place.
Tetsuta Nagashima also impressed throughout the session to take fourth place as he adjusts to life at the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad, who have transitioned to Kalex since KTM withdrew as a chassis constructor in the intermediate class, while further back Xavi Vierge grabbed a top five spot for Petronas Sprinta Racing.
Fernandez was eventually shuffled back to sixth place for EG 0,0 Marc VDS following a late fall at Turn 5 when he ran wide on to the outside kerb at the corner entry. His team-mate Sam Lowes ended Friday in 20th place overall as he makes a comeback from a nasty shoulder injury suffered at a pre-season test at Jerez last month.
Bo Bendsneyder gave NTS RW Racing GP something to smile about with seventh place at the end of FP2 ahead of Enea Bastianini on the Italtrans Racing bike. Nicolo Bulega surged up to ninth place ahead of his debut for Federal Oil Gresini as Jorge Martin rounded out the top 10 for Red Bull KTM Ajo.
Despite a damaging FP2, Luthi held on to a provisional Q2 spot with 11th place overall thanks to his FP1 time with Jorge Navarro slotting into 12th place on the Speed Up. Luthi’s team-mate Marcel Schrotter and Moto2 debutant Aron Canet (Aspar Speed Up) hold the final Q2 spots ahead of FP3.
With the Qatar MotoGP cancelled due to travel bans amid the coronavirus outbreak, Moto2 along with Moto3 will be taking centre stage at the Losail International Circuit this weekend as part of the revised schedule for the 2020 opening round.
