Tony Arbolino led Moto2 World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna, in Brazil. Riding his REDS Fantic Racing Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Italian lapped the 2.38-mile (3.84 km) road course in 1:23.709, topping the field of 28 riders.
Manuel Gonzalez was second-best with a time of 1:23.879 on his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex.
David Alonso did a third-fastest 1:24.075 on his CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team Kalex.
Angel Piqueras got fourth on his QJMOTOR – Pont Grup – MSI Kalex wit a lap time of 1:24.188.
Mario Aji crossed the finish line fifth with a time of 1:24.270 on his Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex.
American Joe Roberts finished Friday afternoon’s practice session 20th with a best time of 1:25.151 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.
moto2 practice
More from a press release issued by MotoGP:
Arbolino heads Gonzalez for Friday Moto2 honours, Holgado in Q1. The Italian puts his Buriram woes behind him to lead the first day of Moto2 action in Brazil.
Battle lines have been drawn on our groundbreaking opening day at Goiania in Moto2 with Tony Arbolino (REDS Fantic Racing) leading the way and a pack of surprises. Behind him, Buriram winner Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) completed the top three in what turned out to be a Friday that featured all four seasons. A wet but drying morning followed by wind, spots of rain but overall dry running in the afternoon, Goiania’s unpredictability was mirrored by the weather.
An array of fresh names and faces made it into Q2 straight away but it was Arbolino who surprised the most by topping the day’s running. The Italian led the combined times courtesy of the afternoon’s Practice being the only dry track time but nonetheless, made the most of the evolving conditions to lead the Moto2 charge. Championship leader Gonzalez was right behind him, 0.170s off the #14 whilst it was Alonso who rounded out the top three.
Onto the surprises and it’s fair to say that Angel Piqueras (QJ MOTOR – PONT GRUP – MSI) was a headline-grabber in fourth as he took top rookie honours whilst Mario Aji (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was fifth, repeating his efforts from Friday afternoon in Thailand. Celestino Vietti (HDR SpeedRS Team) rounded out the top six but suffered a late technical issue.
Notable names not in the top 14 such as Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) who was 16th, Aron Canet (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in 18th and Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) in 20th, with the Spaniard struggling on day one in Goiania after his podium from Buriram. There was a late crash for Zonta Van den Goorbergh crash at Turn 13.
