Ai Ogura could become the Moto2 world champion tomorrow at the Thai GP, and he showed this Saturday that it will be very difficult for his rivals to stop him, leading Practice 2 with a new lap record in Buriram.
The first six minutes saw several lead changes, with five different riders reaching the top of the timesheets – including Ogura (MT Helmets-MSi/Boscoscuro). However, it was Marcos Ramírez (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex) who posted a time that allowed him to solidify his lead.
The Spaniard moved into the lead at the six-minute mark and held it for about 20 minutes before being overtaken by Arón Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex). Shortly after, Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team/Kalex) outperformed both Spaniards.
After 28 minutes, Ogura set a new lap record of 1m34.595s, which held until the end. Canet managed to improve to finish 0.247s behind, with Moreira in third, 0.292s back. The top five were rounded out by Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar/Kalex) and Fermín Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro).
All riders improved compared to yesterday, so the standings in Practice 2 correspond to the combined classification of the two practice sessions. In 14th, Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS/Kalex) secured the last direct spot for the second qualifying, just 0.030s ahead of Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP/Kalex). Among those heading to Q1 is Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSi/Boscoscuro).
Timesheets:
😎 @AiOgura79 is the quickest rider in #Moto2 P2
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 26, 2024
We've got a very interesting Q1 session coming up later on too 👀#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/YXliLmGj4S
