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Moto2, Morbidelli breaks records at Jerez test

TIMES. Franco ahead of Alex Marquez and Nakagami, solid performances for Marini and Pasini (5th and 6th). Tomorrow will see Manzi on track too, no Baldassarri

Moto2: Morbidelli breaks records at Jerez test

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It was Franco Morbidelli who stood out; although the Italian was preceded in the final session by his team-mate Alex Marquez and by Takaaki Nakagami, it is his name at the top of the combined classification.

Franco was the fastest in the morning's session, setting a record time of 1’42”301, one tenth better than Lowes' pole time set during last season's race weekend. "Morbido" also performed in the subsequent sessions, closing consistently inside the top three. His time saw him finish 0”245 ahead of Marquez and 0”428 ahead of Nakagami.

Before continuing, we should point out one thing though: although these are official tests, teams do not have the engines made available by the organisation. This means that some riders might have a slightly ’hotter' engine than others.

It's a close thing in terms of the day's classification with 17 riders in just one second, 19 if we look at the combined classification.

Behind the already mentioned top 3, (a good half second behind Morbidelli) is rookie rider Fabio Quartararo, who is already proving to be at ease in this new category. Behind him are two more Italians, in the shape of Marini, 5th, and Pasini, 6th. Luca just missed out on 4th by 9 thousandths, Mattia is another 9 behind him.

Seventh place for another rookie, Jorge Navarro who precedes Edgar Pons. The Suter stood up well, coming home in ninth in the hands of Kent (Aegerter is 12th) ahead of the other Pons, Axel. Pawi missed out on the top ten by 0.068.

After yesterday's positive start, Oliveira had to settle for 14th (behind Hernandez) with the KTM, while his team-mate Brad Binder, making his Moto2 debut and recovering from injury, is 22nd.

The other Italians has some difficulties. Corsi with the Speed Up is in 19th ahead of rookie Locatelli, Bagnaia is back in 23rd while bringing up the rear is Bassani, 30th.

With regard to the blues, let's not forget that Manzi and Baldassarri were missing today. The good news is that Stefano will try to ride tomorrow to assess his physical condition, while Lorenzo will not. The Forward rider has an inflamed tendon in his left him, it's not a serious injury but there would be no point taking any risks, considering that he carried out private testing at Jerez in recent weeks. Balda will be back on the bike at the Qatar tests.

THE TIMES

Translated by Heather Watson
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