Idemitsu Honda Team Asia and Gresini Racing Moto3 riders fastest as action opens
Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) went fastest over a two day Moto2 and Moto3 test at the Circuito de Jerez, as many traveled from the Valencia GP to begin preparations for next season in the south of Spain. Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) was second fastest, only 0.022 behind Nakagami’s quickest lap. The two riders also went fastest on day one.
The Japanese rider completed 71 laps and the Spaniard over 80 on day two, with EG0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli unable to join his teammate on track due to illness over both days.
Lorenzo Baldassari (Forward Racing Team) was third quickest and put in 87 laps, with Danny Kent (Kiefer Racing) adapting well to the new Suter chassis of the Leopard Team to go fourth. Axel Pons (RW Racing GP) completed the top five after more running on day two.
Luca Marini (Forward Racing Team), Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) and Edgar Pons (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) were P6 to P8, with fastest rookie on the timesheets proving Francesco Bagnaia for the new Sky Racing Team VR46 intermediate class project in ninth – just ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) as the Portuguese rider debuted the KTM Moto2™ chassis – along with new teammate and 2016 Moto3 World Champion Brad Binder.
Isaac Viñales (SAG), Fabio Quartararo (Paginas Amarillas HP 40), Yonny Hernandez (AGR Team), Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Khairul Idham Pawi (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Axel Bassani (Speed Up), Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) and Stefano Manzi (Sky Racing Team VR46) were also present and completing the runners. Quartararo had another long day of familiarization with Moto2, as the Frenchman put in the most laps – 95 – after also completing more than 100 on day one.
In Moto3, it was Gresini Racing Moto3 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio who took P1 on the second day of testing, after returning rider Romano Fenati (Ongetta-Rivacold) topped the timesheets on day one. Di Giannantonio put in a best lap of 1:46.995 to go fastest. Second on day two was Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who impressed once again after a good first day, with Sky Racing Team VR46’s podium finisher Andrea Migno completing the top three.
Fenati was fourth on day two, ahead of Jorge Martin (Gresini Racing Moto3) as he switches colours, with Valencia pole setter Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) in P6.
Marco Bezzechi (CIP-Unicom Starker), Albert Arenas (Pull&Bear Aspar Mahindra Team), Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the top ten in the great rider shuffle ahead of 2017 – with reigning Champion Brad Binder not staying to defend his crown and everything to play for.