Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) stole the top spot of the day from Swiss rider Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) at the end of a heated Moto2 practice session at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) finished third fastest followed by Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing).
With the weather clearing from the earlier rainy conditions, FP1 leader Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) looked set to claim the fastest time of the final session of the day, but it was Simone Corsi who grabbed the top spot in the dying moments of FP2, beating the FP1 leader by 0.121s.
Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) secured the third fastest with a lap of 1’47.513, followed by last year’s race winner, Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing). Bradley Smith (Tech 3) fell out of the top three in the last minutes of practice to finish fifth, moving him up seven positions from his FP1 finish.
Smith finished in front of Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing), who was just 0.012s behind him in sixth. Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing) was a close seventh with a time of 1’47.612. The top seven all produced faster FP2 times than the earlier practice session.
Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40) was not able to keep his earlier momentum from FP1 and scored the eighth fastest position, four-tenths of a second slower than his FP1 time. Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) and Italian rider Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) finished outside the top ten.
Reigning 125cc world champion Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) who won the previous Moto2 race in Le Mans pushed for a fast time, but a previous crash in FP1 seemed to have slowed him down at his home track, where he finished twelfth with a time of 1’47.857.
[Press Release and Photo Courtesy of MotoGP]
