Johann Zarco continued to lead the Moto2 field in Argentina by setting a fastest time of 1:44.533. Putting in a late charge was Taka Nakagami, who set the second best time right at the end of the session and just 0.190 slower than the Frenchman.
Sam Lowes was just pipped by the Japanese in the dying moments. The Brit was putting a strong challenge to Zarco towards the end of the session and was just 0.235 off of the best time in third.
German rider Jonas Folger ended the session in fourth, with Spaniard Alex Marquez finding some long-awaited form with the fifth fastest time. Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin was in sixth, continuing on from a strong result in Qatar two weeks ago.
Italian Franco Morbidelli was in seventh, just ahead of British rider and reigning Moto3 champion Danny Kent in eighth. Qatar winner Thomas Luthi ended the session in ninth, with Simone Corsi rounding out the top 10.
Continuing down the time sheet, Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter was 11th, and Belgian Xavier Simeon in 12th. Sandro Cortese from Germany was 13th, with Alex Rins a somewhat disappointing 14th given what we have come to expect from the highly regarded Spaniard.
Times are close, with just hundredths of a second separating most riders. Less than a second covers the top 14 in the session.
FP3 will be on Saturday at 1455 BST, with qualifying due to take place at 1905 BST.
