“It’s about Aleix Espargaro – super fit, super keen rider, always willing to push the limits like his brother Pol. But for the last three years, he’s been stuck in the same rut. The other manufacturers seemed to get stronger and the Aprilia wasn’t. 2020 preseason has really sparked interest, Aleix has been super happy and Bradley Smith has been doing a lot of test work with that. It’s been difficult to watch the factory because things have improved in the last three years but it hasn’t been close to what they’ve needed. The same as Suzuki – at the moment there are only two bikes, the second rider – Smith at the moment – has been doing a good job weeding through different parts for them. The speed, even the other riders have said the Aprilia is fast this year, but it’s yet to be seen. It’s one thing about riding in preseason testing alone, and doing your test work, having a fast bike in a straight line. But it’s about that longevity throughout the races and so on.

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Both the Italians looked strong in both sessions on Friday as they worked in tandem for a brief period in FP2, but it wasn’t such a straightforward afternoon for the man second overall. Navarro’s bike suffered some sort of issue and the Spaniard had to pull to the side of the track down the back straight, a slight disruption to his afternoon’s running. Nevertheless, Navarro was able to get back out and finish P6 in FP2, with the times – just as they were in FP1 – very close, despite Marini leading both sessions. Championship leader Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was another man to look comfortable across Friday’s action, finishing P3 in FP2 and P4 overall, with rookie Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2) finishing P4 in FP2 after claiming P17 in FP1.

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Towards the end of FP2 though, much like we saw in FP1, the riders were pushing for some quick lap times. FP1 was a proper mini qualifying session in the final 10 minutes as that all-important top 10 starts to take shape, but FP2 was a chance to see who had some pace in the heat. And bringing the heat was Morbidelli, the Italian toppling teammate Quartararo in the latter stages with rookie Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressing to sit P3. Teammate Pol Espargaro penetrated the top five late in FP2 also, with Reale Avintia Racing’s Johann Zarco showing well in the high temperatures to go P7. However, the combined times remained unchanged – bar Quartararo’s improvement – ahead of FP3 on Saturday morning.

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During Friday morning’s FP1, the Argentinian set a 1:45.663 to go a tenth quicker than the previous all-time lap record, which was coincidentally also held by Rodrigo. Four tenths of a second behind him on the combined timesheets is Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez, with Wednesday’s pacesetter in the test, Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee, only a fraction behind the Spaniard in third.

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Avintia Esponsorama Racing’s Eric Granado took FP1 spoils in FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup FP1 at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España. The Brazilian set a 1:48.558 to edge out test pace setter and class rookie Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) by 0.130, with Niccolo Canepa (LCR E-Team) completing the top three.

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It was the first time the Moto2™ riders had been in competitive action since they took the chequered flag at the Qatar Grand Prix, and it was Marini who looked comfortable from the off. Both the SKY VR46 bikes are looking in great form this weekend, but Marini’s nearest challenger on Friday morning came from the Speed Up of Navarro as the leading duo sat three tenths clear of the rest.

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The number 93, with teammate Alex Marquez in tow, was the first man to really move the goalposts – the Spaniard beat Miller’s time by over half a second as we were about to witness a Friday morning qualifying session at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. The reigning Moto2™ World Champion went from last to 7th on time screens, before Miller and Crutchlow then improved to reel in Marc Marquez in at the top. This was just the beginning though with Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech3) launching himself to P7 from last – a telltale sign of how close the premier class field is in 2020. Viñales then went second just 0.024 shy of Marquez’ fastest time, but no one could quite match the number 93.

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Half a second behind Rodrigo and fourth in FP1 was Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46), with the reigning Junior Moto3™ World Champion Jeremy Alcoba, Rodrigo’s Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 teammate, a place behind in fifth. After sitting out the first 20 minutes of the session due to illegal training during the coronavirus enforced break, Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) eventually got out on track and finished twelfth.

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