MotoGP Jerez – First day concludes with everyone very close

Bruno Gomes

May 4, 2018

Cal Crutchlow is the man to beat in Jerez after the first two sessions of MotoGP

The return of the MotoGP paddock on European ground, for this weekend Spanish GP at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, couldn’t be better with perfect weather conditions and a new asphalt providing good times during the first two free practice sessions on all classes.

In MotoGP, it was Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) who came up on top of the timesheet after two sessions on track. The British rider was fast from the start, and after losing the championship lead after the Americas GP in Texas, Crutchlow is on the hunt for the best results.

He was 0.028s faster than Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), who continues to get better and better from his wrist injury, and third today was Frenchman Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) who finished just 0.091s behind Cal Crutchlow.

Proving that things are really close, the first 15 riders in MotoGP are separated by less than a second, and all 25 riders on track are separated by a little over two seconds!

As for Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech3), the Malaysian struggled today to get the best from his satellite Yamaha M1, and he finished the opening day 24th, 1.8 seconds behind Cal Crutchlow.

Alex Marquez feels really comfortable at this Spanish track, and his time proves it!

In Moto2, Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia Marc VDS) was the fastest rider on track and shows that in Jerez he really is a force to be reckoned with. The younger of the Marquez brothers clocked the fastest time with a lap of 1m44.537s, enough to keep second fastest, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) almost three tenths of a second behind.

Malaysians Khairul Idham Pawi (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (SIC Racing Team) finished the opening day in Jerez in 19th and 31st positions, respectively.

Finally, in the Moto3 class, Niccolò Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) set a blistering pace during the afteroon session and left championship leader in second position on the combined timesheets. Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) was almost half a second slower than Antonelli, with his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio close behind in third position.

Malaysian Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing) finishes the first day of action in Jerez as the 17th fastest rider on track, 1.4 seconds slower than Niccolò Antonelli.