Moto2 World Championship leader Johann Zarco starts the weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix fifth on the combined timseheets.

The Spanish Grand Prix started with a first day of intense work for Johann Zarco. After his pole and victory in the Grand Prix of Argentina, the leader of the Moto2 World Championship standings went out with the intention of finding an ideal setup for a circuit with very different conditions than other tracks encountered this season.

The first free practice session was used to gain confidence on the Jerez track. Riding inside the Top 10 throughout the entire session, Zarco set his best time on the seventh of the 21 laps he completed –a time of 1:43,448 putting him fifth in FP1.

With increasingly high track temperatures, during the second session the Frenchman rode at a consistent pace on each of his three stints. With a total of 17 laps completed, the Ajo Motorsport rider went quickest on his penultimate time around, setting a 1:43.566. It did not quite match his time from the morning session but left him in third place in FP2, fifth on the combined timesheet for the day.

A third free practice session tomorrow will serve to finish setting up his Kalex ahead of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix –a session that will be held at 3:05pm (local time).

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Tito Rabat (Kalex) 1:43.198
2. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) 1:43.334 +0.136
3. Simone Corsi (Kalex) 1:43.368 +0.170
4. Jonas Folger (Kalex) 1:43.413 +0.215
5. Johann Zarco (Kalex) 1:43.448 +0.250

Johann Zarco,
“It was a very different day compared to the preseason tests. I could not go as fast as in the winter, although the situation is the same for everyone. The high temperatures at the circuit have made the bike slower; the grip is worse, so we have to adapt the bike to it because in the end, with the same setup from the winter we are not going very well. As I have been saying since the start of the season, I have great confidence in the team and know we’ll do well. We are not very far off, so I hope to get a better feeling on the bike and enjoy myself like I did today.”