Moto2 kicks off its race weekend at the Aragon circuit with a free practice session that confirms the best riders, but leaves room for improvement for those who have struggled so far.
Aragon is a very special track in terms of both layout and asphalt. There are a lot of places where the riders are bent under acceleration, putting a lot of pressure on the tyre. Those who have problems on other circuits usually have even more problems here.
Top 10
The best time was set by Deniz Öncü (Team Red Bull Ajo) with 1.51.356 over a total of 18 laps. Behind him are Manuel Gonzalez (Intact GP) and David Alonso (Aspar) with a gap of 0.029 and 0.039, respectively. For two weekends now, David Alonso, Moto3 2024 champion, has been taking the times of Gonzalez, favourite for the 2025 rider championship, as a reference to improve his own times. This strategy is working, as Alonso, lap after lap, is setting lower and lower times.
Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Kalex) finished fourth, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing), Senna Agius (Intact GP) and Jake Dixon (Marc VDS Racing Team).
Also in the Top Ten were Daniel Holgado (Aspar), Daniel Muñoz (replacing the injured Collin Veijer on the Red Bull Ajo Team Kalex) and Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing).
The rest of the grid
Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team’s Boscoscoscuro) finished 11th, ahead of three other bikes from the Italian manufacturer, those of Filip Salac (Marc VDS Racing Team) and Celestino Vietti (Lopez’s team-mate, ed). The 14th place goes to Izan Guevara (Pramac Racing), who arrived at Aragon emotionally deprived due to family problems. Despite the drop in tyres, he said he enjoyed it because the bike was pushing so hard. It was a very positive race at Silverstone and hopefully the turning point for his Moto2 career. The result at the English circuit was not a fluke, but the consequence of a series of right choices with the team.
Looking ahead
Italtrans Racing Team’s Adrian Huertas has only one goal: to regain confidence with the bike after his shoulder injury. He finishes the session in 15th position with 2.182.
Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) must try to manage the tyres better in the final laps of the race, especially the rear. The tyre wear in his case is due to his riding style, which uses the left throttle differently.
Despite the difficulties, there is a gap of just over a second between the first and seventeenth riders, a sign of how competitive this category of motorsport is. But it is still only the first free practice session; the weekend is long.
Among the constructors, the domination of Kalex, of German origin and which has been monopolising the championship for years, having won several constructors’ championships, continues. In fact, among the top 10 riders, only Holgado rides a Boscoscuro. The Italian manufacturer nevertheless manages with dignity to hold its own among the giants.