As the ninth round of the season approaches, the suspense is at its peak in Moto2. The last round offered a breathtaking finale between Deniz Öncü and Diogo Moreira, while Aron Canet took advantage of his rival's poor qualifying to catch up with Manuel Gonzalez in the championship. As hostilities begin at Mugello, the two men are back-to-back, leading the championship with the same number of points.
Before we begin, here is a summary table of the known facts:
|
Moto2™ Italy, Mugello |
2024 |
2025 |
| FP | 1'51.311 Fermin Aldeguer | 1'50.589 Manuel Gonzalez |
| P1 | 1'50.841 Somkiat Chantra | 1'50.208 Filip Salac |
| P2 | 1'49.926 Alonso Lopez | |
| Q1 | 1'50.583 Jeremy Alcoba | |
| Q2 | 1'49.877 Joe Roberts | |
| Course | Roberts, Gonzalez, Lopez (See here) | |
| All time lap record | 1'49.877 Joe Roberts 2024 |
Practice:
Moto2 returns to the track for a more important session than the first. The aim here is to place in the top 14 before the checkered flag to secure a direct ticket to Q2.
When the hostilities began, it was Filip Salac who shone, setting a benchmark time of 1:50.208, already three tenths faster than the morning's best time. He then beat his former teammate, Tony Arbolino, and Albert Arenas, while the top three were separated by three tenths.
Things then calmed down, and the session entered its traditional lull. During the second round of qualifying, many improved, but no one could match Filip Salac's time. Celestino Vietti and Manuel Gonzalez managed to advance into the top three. Barry Baltus also outperformed Tony Arbolino, who had previously been second on the scoreboard.
With 90 seconds to go, yellow flags were raised due to Ayumu Sasaki's crash. No one would ultimately beat Filip Salac, as the previously mentioned top four finished the session in the same order.
Aron Canet spent the rest of the session in an uncomfortable position, stuck in thirteenth place, and threatened with exclusion from the top 14, and therefore a ticket to Q2. He finally managed to secure the last available spot to ensure a more relaxed Saturday afternoon, with a time of 1:50.908.
Moto2 will return to the track this Saturday at 9:25 a.m. for this weekend's Free Practice 2 (FP2) in Italy.
Moto2 Italian Grand Prix Practice Results at Mugello:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
