Gabriel Rodrigo matched the scorching Friday sun with some scorching Friday pace at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Argentinean broke the lap record in the morning and completing the full set by topping the timesheets in FP2 to end the day over half a second clear.
Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was second fastest overall, with John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) completing the top three only thousandths off the Spaniard in second.
It’s hot in July in Jerez, and that could be seen on the timesheets for much of the field as only a handful improved their laptimes in the afternoon. The top 12 – and Rodrigo’s record – remained unchanged in FP2, but there were only two crashers despite the hot pace overall: Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) in FP1 and 2019 Jerez winner Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in FP2, riders ok.
Behind the near half second gap accrued by Rodrigo at the top though, the timesheets were incredibly tight. The thousandths separating Fernandez and McPhee were followed up by just another 0.063 back to Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46), with rookie and reigning Moto3 Junior World Champion Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) completing the top five by 0.024.
Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Qatar winner and therefore Championship leader Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3), Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) and Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) locked out the top ten.
Sterilgarda Max Racing Team’s Romano Fenati put the new Husqvarna into a positive P11, only 0.003 off the top ten, and the Italian slotted in ahead of Valencia 2019 winner Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0). Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was next up as the first on the timesheets to go quicker in the afternoon in P13 overall; his laptime in FP2 having put him second in that session.
As it stands, Qatar podium finisher Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) holds the final provisional place in Q2 as he ended the day in fourteenth.
Tune in for more on Saturday as FP3 begins at 9:00 (GMT +2), with qualifying for Moto3 starting at 12:35.
Moto3 fastest on Friday
1 Gabriel Rodrigo – Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 – Honda 1:45.663
2 Raul Fernandez – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM +0.430
3 John McPhee – Petronas Sprinta Racing – Honda +0.439
