Aron Canet ended the opening day of Moto3 practice ahead of the Aragon Grand Prix fastest of all after setting the benchmark time in the first session.
Friday practice got underway in dry conditions, with Estrella Galicia Honda rider Canet leading the way in that session with a 1m59.114s after a late effort.
A sprinkling of rain prior to the afternoon session meant the times at the sharp–end of the field did not improve, though championship leader Joan Mir did come fairly close on his penultimate lap with a 1m59.586s.
Ultimately four tenths off of what he managed in first practice, Mir ends Friday second on the combined times ahead of Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Niccolo Antonelli.
The Italian proved his morning pace was no fluke, posting the fifth fastest time in the afternoon. Enea Bastianini – third in the afternoon – was fourth on the combined standings ahead of Jorge Martin, who only completed a handful of laps in each session as he continues to recover from an ankle injury sustained prior to the summer break.
Nicolo Bulega – who was the first onto slicks midway through second practice – slipped to 12th on the timesheets in the afternoon, but his 1m59.578s from the opening session sees him head into Saturday’s action sixth overall ahead of Tatsuki Suzuki, Bo Bendsneyder, Romano Fenati and Marcos Ramirez.
Sky VR46 wildcard Dennis Foggia – who will join the team full-time next season – enjoyed a strong start to his Aragon weekend.
The Italian was an early pacesetter in slicks in the second session, and 11th on the combined standings ahead of Ayumu Sasaki – who was one of a small group of riders to improve on their first practice best – Marco Bezzecchi and the Aspar-bound Andrea Migno.
