Winner at Motegi then at Phillip Island, the Swiss dominated the first free session ahead of Simone Corsi and Jonas Folger, while Johann Zarco ranked eighth and Hugo Clere fell.
|
Valencia Moto2 |
2015 |
2016 |
| FP1 | 1'35.761 Sam Lowes | 1'35.513 Tom Luthi |
| FP2 | 1'35.560 Tom Luthi | |
| FP3 | 1'35.545 Tom Luthi | |
| Qualification | 1'35.234 Tito Rabat | |
| Warm Up | 1'35.689 Tom Luthi | |
| Course | Rabat Rins Luthi | |
| All time lap record | 1'34.957 Pol Espargaro 2013 |
Hafizh Syahrin withdrew from the first session due to stomach problems. Things continued badly for Asia with Takaaki Nakagami who fell without seriousness in turn 14 due to cold tires. The session was interrupted due to the fall of Hugo Clere on the TransFIORmers entered as a wild card. He had fallen in turn 14, perhaps on liquid lost by Nakagami earlier. Jonas Folger had dominated in 1'36.2, preceding Pasini, Lüthi, Morbidelli, while Zarco was in eighth position at 1.3. Ricky Cardus took the air in the pits, test rider of the new KTM Moto2.
Jonas Folger progressed in 1'36.121, 0.1 ahead of Pasini, 0.2 ahead of Lüthi and 0.3 ahead of Virginie, Lowes and Corsi. Morbidelli took second position, soon overtaken by Lüthi. Zarco looked moderately comfortable in sixteenth position. Johann Zarco was on the podium twice in Valencia. Ranked third in the Moto2 race in 2013 and 2014, the Frenchman finished seventh last year. Furthermore, the tricolor now has fourteen successes in Moto2, making him the second rider to have shone the most in this category behind Marc Márquez (16).
From 6° at the start of the day, the air temperature had risen to 17°. The track was also heating up, reaching 22° mid-session. With 18 minutes to go, almost the entire field returned to the pits. Takaaki Nakagami was one of the few to ride, on his repaired machine. During the last quarter of an hour, Marcel Schrotter moved to third on his Kalex which he used for the last time, before switching to Suter next year at IntactGP where he will replace Jonas Folger. This same Folger still dominated the proceedings in front of Lüthi, while Zarco went from eighteenth position at 1.1 to ninth at 0.5 after putting on a soft Dunlop at the rear. Good progress.
Sam Lowes took the lead in 1'35.823, 0.09 ahead of Folger and 0.2 ahead of Corsi. Simone Corsi and her Speed Up (that of Lowes last year) preceded the Briton in 1'35.636. Lorenzo Baldassarri fell (OK). Tom Lüthi improved significantly in 1'35.513, 0.1 ahead of Corsi and Folger. The Swiss finished in first position, ahead of Corsi, Folger, Lowes and Pasini. Zarco was eighth.
FP1 ranking, compiled by our friends at crash.net
1. Thomas luthi SWI Garage Plus Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 35.513s
2. Simone Courses ITA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up) 1m 35.636s
3. Jonas Folger GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 35.674s
4. Sam Lowes GBR Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 35.823s
5. Mattia Pasini ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 35.968s
6. Franco Morbidelli ITA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 1m 35.998s
7. Sandra Cortese GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 36.042s
8. Johann zarco FRA Ajo Motorsport (Kalex) 1m 36.128s
9. Xavier Simeon BEL QMMF Racing Team (Speed Up) 1m 36.157s
10. Marcel schrotter GER AGR Team (Kalex) 1m 36.157s
11. Takaaki Nakagami JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
1m 36.213s
12. alex rins SPA Paginas Amarillas HP 40 (Kalex) 1m 36.241s
13. Julian Simon SPA QMMF Racing Team (Speed Up) 1m 36.256s
14. Xavi Verge SPA Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 1m 36.274s
15. Remy gardner AUS Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 (Kalex)
1m 36.320s
16. Danny Kent GBR Leopard Racing (Kalex) 1m 36.425s
17. Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA Forward Team (Kalex) 1m 36.458s
18. Jesko Raffin SWI Sports-Millions-EMWE-SAG (Kalex) 1m 36.467s
19. Edgar Pons SPA Paginas Amarillas HP 40 (Kalex) 1m 36.529s
20. Miguel Oliveira POR Leopard Racing (Kalex) 1m 36.544s
21. Alex Marquez SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex)
1m 36.569s
22. Axel Pons SPA AGR Team (Kalex) 1m 36.615s
23. Isaac Viñales SPA Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 1m 36.828s
24. Robin Mulhauser SWI CarXpert Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 37.082s
25. Rattha Park Wilairot THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
1m 37.203s
26. Luca marini ITA Forward Team (Kalex) 1m 37.440s
27. Frederick Fuligni ITA Team Ciatti (Kalex) 1m 37.616s
28. Iker Lecuona SPA CarXpert Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 37.934s
29. Hugo Clere FRA Promoto Sport (Transfiormers) 1m 41.952s
Hafiz Syahrin MAL Petronas Raceline Malaysia (Kalex) No Time
