Moto2 Portimao FP1: Joe Roberts sets the pace in FP1
Joe Roberts was the fastest man in this mornings FP1 session in Portugal.
Moto2’s FP1 session was led by Joe Roberts who lapped within 0.2 seconds of last years FP1 time unlike Moto3 and MotoGP who were miles off the pace, the American rider has struggled a little this year after joining the 2020 championship-winning Italtrans team, suffering a crash in the DohaGP in the early stages of the race. Roberts leads a Red Bull KTM Ajo duo of Remy Gardner then Raul Fernandez, the duo majorly impressing at Qatar with Remy taking P2 in both races and Fernandez finishing in 3rd in just his second-ever Moto2 race, the Spanish rider adapting to Moto2 almost instantly and showing some major speed.
Marcel Schrotter was the fourth fastest rider ahead of Aron Canet who also didn’t have the best time in Qatar on the Speed Up, big things are expected from the 2020 Moto2 rookie of the year this year and we are hoping the start of the European rounds is where he will turn his season around for the better, he leads Moto2 championship leader Sam Lowes in P6. Lowes has started the season in spectacular fashion winning both races in Doha scooping up the full 50 points as we head to Portugal, he will be aiming to continue this streak as he sets his sights on the Moto2 title.
Jorge Navarro finished in P7 ahead of Stefano Manzi who is still learning how the Kalex Moto2 machine works and how he can extract the most from it after riding the MV Agusta for the last few seasons. Rounding off the top 10 we saw Nicolo Bulega and Cameron Beaubier who finished 0.809 to his compatriot in P1. Beaubier has previously tested at this circuit already so we are hoping to see him at the front end.
In P13 we see Marcos Ramirez who injured himself at the season opener, he is back after missing the Qatar race and not being able to compete in the Doha GP, he has done extremely well to place P13. The team brought in Sean Dylan Kelly as a reserve rider if he was unable to ride.
Further down the order we see podium finisher Fabio Di Giannantonio in P15, Jake Dixon in P18 and rookies Ai Ogura, Celestino Vietti and Tony Arbolino in P20, P22 and P23 respectively.
Full results:
