2024 Malaysian Moto2 - Friday Practice Results

Manuel Gonzalez shot up the timing screens then lowered his new best to finish Friday ahead of the rest after the red flags came out in a crash filled P1 for the Moto2 class ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Gresini rider was sat down in eighteenth heading into the final seven minutes of the afternoon session, when running solo he cleaned up his lap for a best of 2m 05.576s

Filip Salac was also making moves in the right direction, with progress coming in smaller chunks as he moved from sixth to fourth to second over the same time period on his Elf Marc VDS bike to finish 0.333s slower.

Deniz Oncu had been in the mix at the top of the timesheets and responded and found more time every time a new benchmark was set to finish Friday third for Red Bull KTM Ajo in a close third as top rookie.

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Jake Dixon was one of several fallers going down at the final corner - turn 15. The CFMoto RCB Aspar rider had a heavy, awkward fall which saw him land on his knee, leaving on a stretcher for checks at the medical centre, before being seen pack in his pit box later on.

New Moto2 champion Ai Ogura was fifth quickest after late progress for MT Helmets - MSI - the top Boscoscuro rider on the opening day.

Tony Arbolino shrugged of his recent injuries to bounce back for sixth on the second Marc VDS entry, just ahead of Gresini’s other rider, Albert Arenas, in seventh.

Diogo Moreira lost out a little as the red flag came out, with no late progression seeing the Italtrans rookie stuck in eighth. Ninth placed Celestino Vietti wasn’t afraid to get the tow he needed to move up for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Marcos Ramirez kept his run of good form going with a top ten start to the opening day for American Racing.

Aron Canet was eleventh quickest for Fantic Racing , with work to do but his rivals for second in the championship either absent or behind.

Jorge Navarro was right behind on times as he again sat in at American Racing for twelfth.

A late crash for Ayumu Sasaki at turn two brought out the red flags, with just over two minutes remaining in the session.

Many riders opted to stay in the pits, with only one flying lap possible given the time remaining.

Zonta van den Goorbergh did venture out and reaped the benefits, climbing from 23rd to 13th, while Alonso Lopez also made gains to move into the top 14 from 16th, pushing back Barry Baltus and Mario Aji respectively to hold the last of the overnight provisional Q2 slots.

There were further falls in P2 for Dennis Foggia (21st), Alex Escrig (25th) and Sergio Garcia(18th).

The morning Free Practice session saw the intermediate class negotiate the change from wet to dry track.

Dixon waited and was immediately fast out on slicks, topping the timesheets and cutting his lap several times to finish the session on top.

Ogura was second, with Ramirez second as the riders who topped the standings vied for position, all the way down to rookie Deniz Oncu in sixth, with replacement rider Jorge Navarro also putting in an impressive shift to secure fourth.

2023 polesitter and race winner Fermin Aldeguer is absent from the Malaysian round after his clash with Tony Arbolino at the start of the Moto2 Thailand race, picking up a broken wrist, which required surgery. Had Aldeguer been fit to ride he had a long lap penalty to serve, which if he does not return this season, will transfer to the start of his MotoGP career.

Navarro returns to fill in for Joe Roberts. Harrison Voight (31st) also returns at the Preicanos Racing team for Daniel Munoz. Alberto Surra (26th) is Aldeguer’s replacement at Speed Up.

There are two Malaysian wildcards in for a home race weekend. Khairul Idham Pawi (32nd)returns to the paddock with Petronas MIE racing RW, with teammate Helmi Azman ahead in 29th.