Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro set the pace in the first day of Moto2™ practice at the Iveco TT Assen ahead of Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding and Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter.
Espargaro’s best effort came in the form of 1’38.988 in the morning session, which is when all the top-ten times were set, as the afternoon was affected by rain. Redding was just over a tenth of a second down, finishing ahead of Aegerter, who continues to be a consistently quick performer on his Kalex.
Came IodaRacing Project’s Johann Zarco did well to put his Suter in fourth place, with Desguaces La Torre Maptaq’s Xavier Simeon rediscovering some form in fifth just behind. Rounding out the top ten behind them were Marc VDS’ Mika Kallio, Pons’ Esteve Rabat, QMMF Racing’s Anthony West, Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami, as well as Aegerter’s teammate Randy Krummenacher.
In the wet conditions in the afternoon it was NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Mattia Pasini, Kallio and Zarco that led the way. Caught out by either the greasy surface or slippery white lines in the afternoon, crashes came for eight riders including 2010 class champion Toni Elias on his Blusens Avintia machine. Staying out of trouble was wildcard Gino Rea, as the Englishman makes his second wildcard appearance of the season with his privately entered outfit.
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