Thomas Luthi is the man to beat after setting a very strong pace in Moto2’s second practice at Motegi.
The Swiss rider posted a 1:50.625 midway through the session and that was unchallenged until the end.
Local favourite Takaaki Nakagami was second, just over a quarter of a second slower, with Franco Morbidelli the only other man below the 1:51 barrier.
A big moment early on saw an off for Alex Rins at the tricky final chicane. The championship contender lost the bike over the kerb at the first apex sliding into the gravel on the outside.
The Spaniard was holding his wrist after the incident though it’s not yet known if he has gone to the medical centre.
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Here’s @SamLowes11 with a monumental moment to start your day.
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Lowes almost caused a repeat later in the session, as the setting sun caused a few issues, but the Briton was able to regain control and rejoin the track.
The ever improving Alex Marquez led after the first runs ahead of teammate Morbidelli, however, the session really was all about Luthi.
After setting his benchmark time, he would set what was the second-fastest time of the session in the closing minutes with a 1:50.8. Even his initial lap time that sent him fastest, a 1:51.0, would have been good enough for third.
Behind the top three, Sam Lowes was fourth ahead of Johann Zarco and Lorenzo Baldassarri. Sandro Cortese had an off but was still able to finish seventh, Marquez dropped down to eighth with Marcel Schrotter and Jonas Folger completing the top 10.
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