Moto2 Losail Qatar Warm Up: Tetsuta Nagashima and his real-fake KTM

It's a real metamorphosis that the Moto2 category offered us during the first two days of testing on the Losail circuit, that of the representative of the star-spangled banner Joe Roberts, with the added bonus of a qualification where the first two achieved the same chrono to the nearest thousandth!

Absolutely no one would have tried this bet at the bookmakers, but reality is sometimes more unexpected than the most daring of fictions…

Joe Roberts (Kalex, American Racing), Luca marini (Kalex, Sky Racing Team VR46) and Enea Bastianini (Kalex, Italtrans Racing Team) will therefore start from the first row for the 20 laps of the Qatar Moto2 Grand Prix, but, with 16 riders staying in 6 tenths, the race promises to be beautiful, as predicted by the 16th d 'between them, Aron Canet (Speed ​​Up, Aspar team), a little disappointed with his qualification: “ In the morning I was fast, but the other riders improved a lot with the increase in grip in the evening. We're going to change some settings to try to lose some of that grip. I'm not fast on a lap, but when it comes to race pace, I'm strong. »

We will of course follow all these two boys during this 20-minute warmup on the 5,4 kilometer route of the Qatari circuit, except Sam Lowes (Kalex, EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who unfortunately withdrew for the rest of the weekend, still suffering too much from the shoulder consequences of his fall during testing in Jerez.

 

 

Here are the references available as the 29 drivers prepare in the boxes. The conditions remain excellent with a sky that is whiter than the previous days, a wind which, like yesterday, tends to pick up, and temperatures of 28° in the air and 41° on the ground:

 

Moto2™ Losail Qatar	2019	2020
FP1	1'59.591 Marcel Schrötter	1'59.168 Tom Lüthi
FP2	1'58.635 Lorenzo Baldassarri	1'58.421 Joe Roberts
FP3	1'59.596 Jorge Martin	1'59.019 Arón Canet
Q1	1'59.154 Luca Marini	1'58.422 Marcel Schrötter
Q2	1'58.585 Marcel Schrötter	1'58.136 Joe Roberts
warm up	1'59.195 Remy Gardner	1'59.565 Tetsuta Nagashima
Course	Baldassarri, Lüthi, Schrötter
All time lap record	1'58.635 Lorenzo Baldassarri 2019	1'58.136 Joe Roberts

 

When the red lights go out, the Briton Jake Dixon (Kalex, Petronas Sprinta Racing) starts first but also returns to his box first, without even finishing his first lap.

Joe Roberts (Kalex, American Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Kalex, Italtrans Racing Team), two of yesterday's strong men, did not take to the track straight away.

Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez (Kalex, EG 0,0 Marc VDS) set the first benchmark in 2'00.490 before Jorge Navarro (Speed ​​Up, +Ego Speed ​​Up) recorded a 1'59.727.

Halfway through the session, the Spanish driver precedes Tetsuta Nagashima (Kalex, Red Bull KTM Ajo), Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex, Sky Racing Team VR46), Enea Bastianini (Kalex, Italtrans Racing Team), Remy Gardner (Kalex, Onexox TKKR SAG Team), Augusto Fernández (Kalex, EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Fabio di Giannantonio (Speed ​​Up, +Ego Speed ​​Up), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex, Flex–Box Pons HP 40), Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta, MV Agusta Temporary Forward) and Tom Luthi (Kalex, Liqui Moly Intact GP).

A few minutes later, Joe Roberts (Kalex, American Racing) positioned itself 7th then 3rd while Edgar Pons (Kalex, Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) enters the Top 10.

 

 

Héctor Garzó (Kalex, Flex–Box Pons HP 40) falls without gravity at the cursed turn #6.

 

 

In extremis, Tetsuta nagashima (Kalex, Red Bull KTM Ajo) set the best time in 1'59.565 on his Kalex bearing the KTM logo.

 

 

Moto2 Losail Qatar Warmup: times

Classification credit: MotoGP.com