Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) topped the free practice sessions in the Moto 2 class on the opening day in Argentina.
After an intense battle with his team mate, Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), it was Morbidelli who dominated ahead of rivals Marcel Shrotter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia).
Free Practice One saw Morbidelli strong right from the start
With the sun still waving hello in the sky following Moto GP, it was time for the Moto 2 boys to come out on track for Free Practice One.
It was last round’s winner Morbidelli who sat on top with 1:47.865 on the first outing. It wasn’t long before Marquez and Tom Luthi (CarXpert Interwetten) scooped up first and second as they came out to play.
Danny Kent (Kiefer Racing) watched on from the pits, as it appeared crowded around the track as the riders hunched together in a pack. With some riders enjoying the slip steam, and others getting caught up, this allowed Schrotter to go fastest with 1:46.028 as he managed to get away on his own.
Simone Corsi suffered a small, and the first, crash
Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) suffered the first crash of the session at turn 13 as he slid off track, with a very angelic spin. He was able to get up and ride the bike back to the pits, as then attention was turned back to Marquez who threw in a time of 1:45.616 putting him at the top.
A small battle then commenced between Schrotter and Morbidelli as they squabbled for first and second place in the timings, before Schrotter then had a moment at turn 13. A leg flew into the air as he almost lost control, but was able to keep focus and continue on his lap. Morbidelli took this chance to take the lead once again with 1:45.344.
Schrotter wasn’t the only one having moments, as now it was Marquez’ turn with 24 minutes remaining in turn 8. A slide ended up almost taking him into the dirt, but he was also able to save it.
As the track quietened, Marquez suffered a large crash
With 10 minutes to go, and with the field looking fairly quiet, Marquez then went on to suffer a large fall at turn 3 and at first instance, looked in pain. After a few moments of catching his breath, he was up and walking away, not forgetting to pick up important parts of his bike to take with him.
Now with only three minutes to go, Morbidelli pushed on after his team mate’s misfortune, to try and continue his lead at the top. He was on a very quick lap before getting tangled with Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) and ended up running off the track, losing his time. This allowed Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Racing Team) to slot himself at the top with 1:45.161.
It was a humid Free Practice Two
The air felt progressively hot and humid as the Moto 2 riders set out for Free Practice Two. There was speculation of rain, but it managed to hold off as the lights turned green.
Looking to make amends after his unlucky morning, Marquez was quick to make the top three on his first outing. His team mate, Morbidelli, was soon to follow in his footsteps putting himself in fourth, one position behind.
The early bench mark was set by Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) with 1:45.180, but it all changed very quickly with Luthi, Morbidelli and Marquez improving yet again to put Gardner down to fourth. It was at this point that Nakagami made his first top three appearance of the weekend, popping into third place with 1:44.959.
Pasini and Cortese attempted to alter Morbidelli’s pace
With 21 minutes to go, it was clear the rider’s tyres were slowly beginning to warm up. Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) went quickest with 1:44.691, and Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) went second with 1:44.770 pushing Luthi to third. He was then about to be pushed the fourth, as Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) had an exciting lap making him the new fastest rider so far.
They were no match for the Italian on the Estrella bike as with 10 minutes to go, Morbidelli had made a reappearance. He clinched back the fastest time with 1:44.629, as his team mate could only watch on from the pits. Meanwhile Kent had put himself into a sturdy 12th place and Baldassarri showed he means business, popping into third.
It was an intense final few minutes with position swapping
As we headed into the final five minutes, it was disaster for Corsi as his bike decided it was game over and stopped mid-track. It appeared it had run out of fuel, and Corsi had to make his way back to the pits. Meanwhile, Marquez decided to take his team mate on, and reappeared from the pits to take the new fastest time with 1:44.557.
However, the team mates had other concerns, as Schrotter proved to have continued speed as he then went fastest with one minute left of the session with 1:44.337. As the top five swapped and changed around in the final moments, along came Morbidelli with a soaring lap putting him into first ahead of Schrotter and Nakagami.