Simon posts second fastest laptime before rain spoils first day of Moto2 action

The first ever Grand Prix of Aragón got underway today as the first free practice sessions took place at Motorland. The riders benefited from the return of a Friday morning session today and it was a good thing too, with the afternoon practice cut short by rain. The other novelty about this weekend is that the Moto2 riders are up first, with Andrea Iannone quickest in the day’s opening session but followed closely by Julian Simón.

Both Mapfre Aspar riders were satisfied with their opening day’s work at Motorland having made the most of the morning session to find a set-up for their machines around this circuit. Julián made a strong start to the day and with his final lap of the opening session he recorded his best time of the day, finishing 0.061 seconds behind Iannone. With rain coming midway through the second session there was little chance to improve but the Spaniard is satisfied and hopeful of a pole challenge tomorrow.

2nd Julián Simón 1.56.284 (22 laps): “We are very satisfied with today because even though we didn’t get much work done, the work we did was good and followed on from a positive test at Valencia. It was a strange day because in the second session it rained a little but the track was neither wet nor dry so we decided not to risk it. We made the most of a completely dry session this morning and got some good feedback. We had one more tyre compound we wanted to try but it’s not a big deal – we can try it tomorrow. I felt comfortable today and I am confident we can be running at the front. I love the circuit, it is fantastic to ride here and I am really happy with the way the first day has gone.”

Source: Mapfre Aspar Team