Tetsuta Nagashima and Jorge Martin take provisional spots in Q2 for the Catalan GP, after placing 5th and 9th, respectively, on Friday.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 team started the Catalan Grand Prix on Friday with the first two Free Practices of the weekend. Tetsuta Nagashima was strong in the morning session and, although in the afternoon things were made more difficult due to strong winds, he was fifth overall. Jorge Martin did a great job on the day of his return to action, regaining confidence and improving his feeling on-board his bike. The Spaniard finished in ninth position in the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheets, taking both riders provisionally into Q2.

Tetsuta Nagashima progressed steadily in FP1 and was third in the practice with a personal best of 1:44.630, from a total of 18 laps. The Japanese rider dedicated the session to continuing to feel comfortable on the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 bike. Jorge Martin was making his comeback after two Grands Prix away, but showed that he had not missed a beat, finishing seventh after completed 16 laps. His 1:44.856 time was just 2 tenths slower than that of his teammate.

In the afternoon, the wind at the track intensified, making things tricky for the intermediate class riders. Martin decided to use all of his available time and rode 19 laps; the eighteenth of these saw him set a 1:45.337 that earned him 12th in FP2. Nagashima experienced more difficulty and put in 15 laps in this session. The Japanese was 20th thanks to a 1:45.754.

On Saturday the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo will face qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix, after a final Free Practice in the morning. Q1 will start at 3:10 pm, followed by Q2 at 3:35 pm local time.

Results – FP1 & FP2
1. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:44.122
2. Luca Marini (Kalex) 1:44.322 +0.200
3. Marcel Schrotter (Kalex) 1:44.531 +0.409
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) 1:44.597 +0.475
5. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:44.630 +0.508
9. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:44.856 +0.734

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It was a tough day for us, since we hadn’t been on the bike for almost a month. However, I’m especially happy because in the morning I felt comfortable riding without as much wind. We did a good job, even though some aspects of our machine still needed to be fine-tuned. In the afternoon, we tried to take a step forward, but it was very windy and we couldn’t clear up many things. The positive point is that I was able to complete many laps and that is important for getting up to speed.”

45 TETSUTA NAGASHIMA

“This morning I felt very comfortable on the bike – much better than last weekend. In the afternoon, I suffered a lot due to the wind, so I hope that both tomorrow and on Sunday it will calm down a bit. My goal for both days is, as always, to be at the front. On Saturday we will try some things out in FP3 and then in qualifying we will work hard to place at least on the second row of the grid.”