Dominant opening day for Lecuona in Valencia

Spaniard tops wet FP1 and FP2 to lead Marquez and Oliveira on Day 1

Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors) proved his worth in the wet conditions after his FP1 time saw him end Day 1 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana at the summit of the Moto2™ combined standings.

Because of the heavier rainfall in the afternoon, FP1 times would remain the fastest of the day for the intermediate class. This means Lecuona’s 1:46.705 in the morning was enough to see him better Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) – the two Spaniards crashing in FP2 – by 0.798, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) sitting third quickest on the combined times – 0.912 off Lecuona. Both Marquez and Oliveira were able to finish inside the top ten in FP2 as they make strong starts to their weekend.

Fourth overall and P4 in FP2 was Joe Roberts (NTS RW Racing GP), a solid day for the American in tricky conditions despite a crash in the first session, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) fifth on Day 1 – P3 for the Italian in the second session. World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) ends Friday in P6, P13 for the Italian in FP2, as Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) sits P7 despite a P20 finish in the afternoon.

P8 on the opening day goes to Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP), the South African crashing in both sessions, with two MotoGP™-bound riders completing the top ten: P9 for Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), P10 for Fabio Quartararo (HDR Heidrun – Speed Up).

FP2 saw no less than 16 crashes: Lukas Tulovic (Forward Racing Team), Hector Garzo (Tech 3 Racing), Khairul Idham Pawi (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Team Gresini) twice, replacement rider Tommaso Macron (HDR Heidrun – Speed Up), Xavi Cardelus (Marinelli Snipers Team), Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2’s Simone Corsi, Tetsuta Nagashima (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), SKY Racing Team VR46’s Luca Marini, Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) all crashed. Riders ok, but Lowes had to be helped back into his garage as he headed to the medical centre for a checkup.

A very wet opening day at Valencia sees Lecuona looking good for pole position, but Saturday is another day, so can anyone top the Spaniard before qualifying begins? Moto2™ are in action with FP3 at 10:55 local time (GMT +1). 

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