Zarco remains in control in Argentina

Johann Zarco continued his fine form from FP1 to top FP2 and the day from Takaaki Nakagami and Sam Lowes.

After a positive morning session, riders in the Moto2™ World Championship were back out on track with arguably the best conditions of the day. While temperatures may have continued to rise, more and more rubber had been laid down and grip continued to improve. Throughout the session riders were able to improve their times with almost every lap, edging closer and closer to the record pace of the previous year.

Leading the way once again at the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina was reigning Moto2™ World Champion, Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport). A final lap of 1’44.533 cemented the French rider at the top of the table, improving his FP1 time by half a second. 2015 saw Zarco take his first win of the season, spurring on his title charge. His start to the Argentina GP in 2016 is even stronger than in 2015, his time slower due to a lesser track condition. The Termas de Rio Hondo circuit is rarely used outside of the Grand Prix and as such takes a long time to bed in.

Nabbing second was Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), the Japanese rider 0.190s behind Zarco. Nakagami has not always had the pace to battle for victory but has the ability to be a cat amongst the pigeons at almost any round.

Third fastest was Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), who set his fastest lap towards the end of the session. Lowes is quickly developing a reputation as a rider who builds to his fastest times, especially in Free Practice, striking right at the end. Luck was not on his side in Qatar, but there’s little doubt the Brit will be a podium challenger come race day.

Jonas Folger (Dynavolt Intact GP) again showed well as he concluded the opening day of practice in Argentina in fourth. The German was only 0.105s behind Nakagami but a mere 0.048s behind Folger was Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS). The Spaniard has had a mixed time in Moto2™ so far but is beginning to be a consistent challenger towards the front.

Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia), Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS), Danny Kent (Leopard Racing), Tom Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) and Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) completed a tight top ten who were within 0.590s of each other.

There was an early fall for Xavier Simeon (QMMF Racing Team) at Turn 13, he was unharmed.