Inde GASGAS Aspar Team rider Jake Dixon has finished fastest in Friday’s running for the Moto2™ field at the OR Thailand Grand Prix. Certainly not resting on his laurels just days after the announcement of his contract renewal, Dixon set a 1:36.280 which left him 0.173 seconds clear of the field when the music stopped in FP2 at the Chang International Circuit. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) claimed second and World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez did enough to be third-fastest before his late spill. Title rival and Japanese GP winner Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) finished seventh on the timesheet and, in the event of rain on Saturday morning, he too is safely through to Q2.

It was sunshine and dry weather that greeted the intermediate class for FP2, however, and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was first to better Fernandez’s FP1 benchmark when he clocked a 1:36.750 just eight minutes into proceedings. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) dusted himself off from an early crash to up the pace to a 1:36.597, before Lopez bounced back from a frustrating morning session – when his Boscoscuro had a technical problem – to take over top spot with a 1:36.453. Dixon, however, would go quickest of all in the last eight minutes before the chequered flag.

Dixon and Lopez therefore finished first and second, with Fernandez third on the 1:36.564 which he got in before losing the front at Turn 3 in the 38th minute – rider okay. Chantra’s aforementioned lap time left him fourth, ahead of Acosta, Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), and Ogura on a 1:36.725. Rounding out the top 10 were Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP), and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up).

Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) is provisionally into Q2 also despite a spill at Turn 3 with five minutes to go. He sits 11th, ahead of Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing). Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40), however, is outside the top 14 after a second crash of the day when he lost the front at Turn 12. The Spaniard is 16th, and another notable who will be hoping the rain stays away on Saturday morning is former Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) in 18th on the timesheet. Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Keminth Kubo (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) also hit the deck during FP2 – riders okay.

The last push for direct Q2 spots in FP3 takes place on Saturday at 09:55 (GMT +7)!

Moto2™ Top 10 on Friday

1. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) – 1:43.503
2. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.191
3. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.827
4. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.890
5. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.920
6. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 0.962
7. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 1.067
8. Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40) + 1.102
9. Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 1.181
10. Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 1.244

Rain gave way to some rare sunshine and it was Ayumu Sasaki who capitalised in FP2 for the Moto3™ field at the OR Thailand Grand Prix. The Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max rider set a 1:43.503 at the end of the session to be top at the conclusion of Friday running in the lightweight class at the Chang International Circuit. Second went to fellow Japanese rider Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) on a 1:43.694, with Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) third on a 1:44.330. World Championship leader Izan Guevara was classified seventh, six positions ahead of fellow Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team rider – and nearest rival for the title – Sergio Garcia. With the weather looking dicey, that could be the Championship contenders effectively locked into Q2.

Moto3™ was the only class which had not enjoyed any dry running on Friday morning at Buriram and that looked like being the case for the day as a whole when showers began just before FP2 got underway and turned into a downpour in the early stages. However, the sun then made a cameo and the lap times began to tumble, halfway through the 40-minute session. Rossi had just gone fastest with a 1:51.513s on wets before that was blown out of the water – if you pardon the ironic metaphor – when Suzuki laid down a 1:46.616 after his switch to slicks. Of course, that was not the end of the story.

Suzuki looked like getting the sweep of the Friday sessions – a wet one and a dry one (eventually) – when he set a 1:43.694 in the last two minutes before the chequered flag. However, it was after that came out that compatriot Sasaki denied him the honour with a lap which put him 0.191 seconds clear of the Leopard Honda rider and 0.827 seconds up on Rossi. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammates Daniel Holgado and Jaume Masia rounded out the top five, while Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü was a highly commendable sixth as he grits his teeth with an injured finger after his highside in Warm Up five days ago at Motegi.

With the possibility of rain on Saturday morning, it was important for Garcia to make the top 14 cut-off for direct passage to Q2 by claiming seventh on a 1:44.570. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team), Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), and Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) completed the top 10, ahead of Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power), Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers), and the man on the top of the riders’ points table, Garcia. He was 13th-fastest on a 1:44.906, with Xavier Artigas (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) just 0.004 seconds slower in 14th, and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) missing out by only 0.007 seconds. Also outside the top 14 for now is John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) in 16th.

What will the weather throw at the Moto3™ riders next? FP3 takes place on Saturday from 09:00 (GMT +7)!

Moto3™ Top 10 on Friday

1. Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) – 1:43.503
2. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) + 0.191
3. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.827
4. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.890
5. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.920
6. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) + 0.962
7. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 1.067
8. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) + 1.102
9. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 1.181
10. Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team) + 1.244