Ai Ogura set the pace on the first day of practice for the Malaysian GP in Moto2. The Japanese rider posted the fastest time of Friday in the final minutes of the second session.
Marcos Ramírez (OnlyFans American Racing/Kalex) was leading after the first flying laps, just one thousandth of a second ahead of Alonso López (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro). The first of the Spaniards reinforced his position with his subsequent attempts. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) climbed to third.
While Ramírez remained out of reach at the front, Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) moved into second place, just 0.125s behind. More changes came with 20 minutes remaining, as Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) moved up to third.
Within the last five minutes, Ramirez was finally overtaken, and by three riders. Jake Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar/Kalex) took the lead, Acosta in second, and Arón Canet (Pons Wegow Los40/Kalex) in third. Later, Canet took the lead, but was unable to prevent being beaten by Ogura who was 0.100s faster.
Until the end, the top positions did not change. Ogura was the fastest in the practice and on Friday. Canet finished second, with Dixon third and Acosta fourth. Aldeguer, who set the pace in the morning session, was fifth. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) could only manage 18th.
Times:
Combined times table P1 + P2:
