Manuel Gonzalez led Moto2 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Termas de Río Hondo, in Argentina. Riding his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard lapped the 2.99-mile (4.81 km) road course in 1:41.713, topping the field of 27 riders and breaking Alonso Lopez’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:42.472 from 2023.
Alonso Lopez was second-best with a time of 1:41.873 on his Team HDR Heidrun Boscoscuro.
Jake Dixon did a third-fastest 1:41.888 on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Boscoscuro.
American Joe Roberts finished Friday afternoon’s practice session 8th with a best time of 1:42.385 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Gonzalez grabs Termas Day 1 honours. The Thai GP winner ends a red-flagged Moto2 session at the summit with Lopez and Dixon in tow.
World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) has hit the ground running in Termas de Rio Hondo as the Spaniard ended the red-flagged Moto2 Practice session at the top of the timesheets. Gonzalez’s 1:41.713 was 0.160s quicker than Alonso Lopez’s (Team HDR Heidrun) best time, but it was the #21’s crash on the exit of Turn 3 that signalled the premature end to Practice. Lopez was all OK after the crash, and it was fellow Boscoscuro rider, Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), who rounded out the top three.
Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) and Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing) are safely into Q2 after pocketing P4 and P5, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) in P6 – but that wasn’t the story of the session for the #44. In the closing stages, Canet suffered a big crash at Turn 11 but has been confirmed as fit for the remainder of the event. It wasn’t all smiles for one of the key names though, as Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) suffered a dramatic fall at Turn 1, missing the remainder of the session and thus finding himself in P15 and going through Q1.
Get the full results to Moto2 Practice before Saturday’s qualifying day ignites!