The meteorologists were not mistaken: the first day of free practice (two sessions) in preparation for the Japanese GP on Sunday, on the Twin Ring circuit in Motegi, was copiously rained.
In extremely tricky conditions, numerous falls have been recorded, all without the slightest physical effect for the pilots. Already very present in the morning, Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten) dominated the afternoon session, before he also got acquainted with the soggy dirt that borders the circuit, eight minutes from the end of the second session of the day. This alert did not prevent the second in the intermediate classification of the world championship – there are four races remaining on the program for the 2017 season – from setting the best time of the day, ahead of the Spaniard Alex Marquez and the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira. Lüthi's big opponent for the title, the Italian Franco Morbidelli is in fifth place in the hierarchy, almost a second behind the Swiss driver. The two teammates of the Garage Plus Interwetten team, the Spaniard Iker Lecuona (also a fall) and the Zurich native Jesko Raffin signed the 25th and 26th times of the day respectively; precision: a thousandth of a second separates the two protégés of the team manager Frédéric Corminboeuf.
Saturday, third free practice session in the morning, then qualifying in the afternoon. Start of the Moto2 race on Sunday (there is a seven-hour difference between Japan and continental Europe) at 5:20 a.m.
He said…
Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten, 1st):
“I hit the brakes a little too hard in turn 3 and that's not forgiving. Apart from this fall, the day is very positive, my pace is not bad at all in the rain. In fact, only one worry today: with this humidity, we are all suffering from the cold; this morning, with soggy gloves, I didn't have much feeling in my fingers. We will therefore have to find a solution for Sunday's race, if it were to rain, as is predicted."
Motegi (Japan). Japanese Moto2 GP, first day of free practice (2 sessions):
1. Lüthi (SWI, Kalex, carXpert Interwetten), 2'05.282 (137.900 km/h);
2. A. Marquez (SPA, Kalex), at 0.178;
3. Oliveira (POR, KTM), at 0.525;
4. Syahrin (MAL, Kalex), at 0.930;
5. Morbidelli (ITA, Kalex), at 0.938;
6. Siméon (BEL, Kalex), at 0.946;
7. Bagnaia (ITA, Kalex), at 1.144;
8. Cortese (GER, Suter), at 1.359;
9. Aegerter (SWI, Suter), at 1.372;
10. Manzi (ITA, Kalex), at 1.526.
Then: 25. Lecuona (SPA, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), at 2.719; 26. Raffin (SWI, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), at 2.720. 33 classified.
