Manuel Gonzalez led Moto2 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Sepang, in Malaysia. Riding his Gresini Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard lapped the 3.44-mile road course in 2:05.576, topping the field of 32 riders.
Filip Salac was second-best with a time of 2:05.909 on his Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex.
Deniz Öncü did a third-fastest 2:05.944 on his Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex.
Classification moto2 P1 sepang
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Gonzalez steals the limelight from Salac at Sepang. The #18 charged to the top of the timesheets on Friday, finishing ahead of Filip Salac and Deniz Öncü.
Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2™) was quickest on the opening day of action at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, setting an incredible 2:05.576. The #18 found time late in Practice 1, ending the session ahead of Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who chipped away throughout the session – improving on Lap 12. The #12 was a mere 0.333s adrift from Gonzalez’ benchmark as the final spot inside the top three was secured by Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with the Moto2™ rookie completing an impressive opening day at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit.
Riders were faced with a drying track in Free Practice, with riders switching to slick tyres in the latter stages of the session. Jake Dixon (CFMOTO RCB Aspar Team) took top honours, setting a 2:06.255 as the field prepared for Practice 1. Dixon would climb to P1 in the early stages of Practice 1 before the #96 suffered a highside at the final corner – rider OK. The British rider maintained top honours until the final 10 minutes, where Gonzalez improved, jumping to P1. The #18 improved further before a crash from Ayumu Sakaki (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) brought out the red flag – leaving two minutes on the clock once the session was restarted.
Dixon dropped down to fourth, spending the remainder of the session in the pit box. The #96 will aim to return to action on Saturday after finishing the Friday ahead of newly crowned Moto2™ World Champion Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI). The Japanese star had a strong day, working hard to end Friday in front of Tony Arbolino, with the Italian completing a successful afternoon for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team. Meanwhile, Albert Arenas (Gresini Moto2™) secured P7 as Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) rounded out the top eight spots.
Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) completed the top 10, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) in 11th after the #44 opted not to return to track following the red flag. Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team) was 12th as Zonta Van Den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) and Sync SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez held onto the final spots inside the top 14.
Moto2™ returns to action on Saturday morning, with Practice 2 kickstarting an important day at 09:25 local time (UTC +8) ahead of qualifying to set the grid at 13:45 (UTC +8)!