Rea edges Lowes in FP1 as Davies hits trouble

Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea led the way in opening practice at MotorLand Aragon, whilst nearest title rival Chaz Davies encountered mechanical troubles

The Northern Irishman wasted no time when the hour-long session got underway, hitting top spot immediately with a 1m50.570s. Initially a second clear, his advantage was whittled down to just 0.071s has the session progressed.

Ducati’s Davies comes into this weekend’s third round as the favourite for success having won five times at the Spanish circuit in the past.

But his day got off to the worst possible start after a he suffered a mechanical issue on his Panigale R. His mechanics managed to get him back out in the closing stages, but his woes carried on and he was unable to improve on 20^th.

Yamaha’s Alex Lowes said prior to this weekend that a podium challenge is his minimum target at Aragon, and he put himself well on course to fulfil this in FP1 after a late charge up to second on the timesheets.

Barni Racing’s Xavi Fores will be aiming high this weekend after a strong showing at this round 12 months ago on his Ducati. The Spaniard completed the top three in FP1, 0.158s off the pace. Compatriot Jordi Torres was fourth fastest on his Althea BMW.

Tom Sykes spent FP1 continuing to adjust his aggressive riding style to the characteristics of the 2017 ZX-10RR, and ended the session fourth fastest on a 1m50.944s.

Michael van der Mark headed Ducati’s Marco Melandri, with the returning Leandro Mercado impressing in eighth on his Ioda Aprilia. The Honda duo of Stefan Bradl and Nicky Hayden completed the top 10.

Eugene Laverty looks like a strong contender to gain direct passage to the second part of Superpole. The Aprilia rider narrowly missed out on the top 10 in FP1, while temporary team-mate Julian Simon ended the morning a respectable 18^th.

MV Agusta’s Leon Camier, for the third successive race weekend, lost a lot of track time to a technical issue. Luckily, his team managed to sort the problem and he got out for 12 laps, managing a best effort of 1m52.348s to go 17^th.