Taking to a cleaner track for a change, as they were not the first out at the Losail international Circuit in Qatar, the Moto3 class set out to continue with Free Practice, after the two previous sessions the day earlier that saw Phillip Oettl (Schedl GP Racing) quickest at the floodlit track in Qatar.
Aggressive start to the season in the Moto3
With just the one session available to them on the second day, and the wind calmer than they experienced during FP2 the previous day, immediately, it was like a race was underway already as groups of riders collected on the track as they all worked to reduce the times in an attempt to match the pace from day one.
John McPhee (British Talent team) and Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) were seen dicing on track and the two almost came together at the 12th turn, where Bendsneyder was forced off track.
It was not long before Juanfran Guevara (RBA ROE Racing Team) had managed to break into the 2:07 minute laps. Jorge martin and McPhee were also looking strong and a battle was beginning for the top spot. Bendsneyder’s misfortune continued on as he found himself tussling with riders on track and having to bail and use the run-off areas to prevent a crash.
Canet takes the lead midway through the session
As they passed the halfway mark, Aron Canet looked to take over at the top of the leaderboard; however he lost time during the final section. After a few more attempts, he was able to improve further and knocked Guevara down to second.
Several riders oozed potential as they looked to be fast in different sectors, even whilst out riding around unaccompanied. For the 250cc class the slipstream gained from the bike(s) in front prove incredibly significant, and so the fast pace alone on track was proof they could perform come race day.
The pace quickened further during the final quarter
Entering the last ten minutes, two riders in particular were flying. Bendsneyder found time and space to relax and was first to knock Guevara off the top spot again, reducing his time by over a third of a second. But then, the quickest man on day one, Oettl, had also found his rhythm, and immediately snatched the lead away from Bendsneyder with a low 2:07 minute lap.
With less than eight minutes to go, Martin became the first rider to break through the 2:07 minute barrier with a time of 2:06.817. As he approached the final section of the lap, he was overtaken, and was able to use the slipstream mentioned earlier to his advantage as he had the power available to accelerate down the start-finish straight and take the top spot.
The track was busy in the final five minutes as the riders looked to slot into the perfect position, so not to give an advantage to a rival on track. With the 2016 Moto3 champion Brad Binder missing as he was promoted to the Moto2 with Red Bull KTM Ajo, the pack had to look elsewhere for tuition o the best lines to take at Qatar.
Martin quickest at the end of day two of Moto3 Free Practice
Just two minutes remained and most riders were able to achieve personal best times, especially during the opening two sectors of the lap. When the flag went out, personal best times were all they could achieve on the busy track, and so Martin finished up day two for the Moto3 class as the man to beat with his fastest time so far in the class at Qatar.
It was Romano Fenati (Marinelli-Rivacold Snipers), who is making his return to the Moto3 after being sacked last year by the SKY Racing VR46 Team for repeated bad behaviour, who finished FP3 as the second quickest rider on track, and the only other rider bar Martin to lap under 2:07 minutes so farm with a time of 2:06.989.
Oettl remains third with time from previous day
When combining all the lap times so far however, Oettl who was third quickest during FP3, remained quickest overall with his lap time from FP2 (2:06.92). Bendsneyder was fourth ahead of his teammate Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in fifth. Joan Mir’s (Leopard Racing) time from day one meant he was sixth quickest on combined times despite finishing FP3 in 12th. It meant that Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46), who was sixth during FP3 was pushed down to seventh as was Canet in eighth.
Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA ROE Racing Team) was ninth on combined times despite the fact he did not venture out on the second day as he broke his collarbone following a crash on the first day, and has been ruled out of the remainder of the opening round.
Guevara and Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) were 10th and 11th because of times from day one, Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46), Adam Norrodin (SIC Racing Team) and McPhee improved during FP3 and were joined by the quickest rookie in the class, Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team) who completed the top 15 by the end of day two.