Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) kickstarted an unmissable weekend at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, setting a 1:35.192 to steal the top spot on Friday. Canet bagged a 0.218s advantage over Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who had an incredible afternoon – claiming P2. The Italian battled back in Practice 1, fighting fit after an earlier incident on the entry to the pitlane in FP. Meanwhile, Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took third, completing a strong day for the #24 after securing top honours in the morning session and ending Friday just 0.250s adrift from the #44’s benchmark.
It was a hectic start to the weekend, with Free Practice delivering further drama as Ramirez ended the day quickest – setting a 1:35.897. Once Practice 1 began, Canet became the early pacesetter, improving on the times set in Free Practice. Then in the final 10 minutes, lap times dropped, and Ramirez battled back, climbing to the top of the standings before Canet further improved and seized control on the opening day.
Taking fourth after an impressive final run of the day was Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team), who set nearly 20 laps throughout the day. Dixon was in front of Alonso Lopez, who brought his Triumph-powered Beta Tools SpeedUp machine to fifth position in Thailand. However, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) would end the day in P6 after the Championship leader suffered an early end to the day after an issue in the final two minutes. Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) took seventh as Round 16 winner Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2™) earned P8 at the end of Friday.
Albert Arenas finished a great day for the Gresini Moto2™ squad, finishing in front of Jorge Navarro, who rounded out the top 10, with the #9 replacing the injured Joe Roberts at the OnlyFans American Racing Team. Further back, Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) showed a strong pace across the day, placing in front of Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team). Meanwhile, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and home hero Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) took the final spots inside the provisional top 14. However, Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) is one of the riders with work to do on Saturday morning – ending Friday in P15.
M2 Friday Practice Classification
