Surprise in Mugello. Somkiat Chantra was the fastest in the first practice of the Italian Moto2 Grand Prix. The times improved considerably compared to the free practice this morning, as this session can define the directly qualified for the second qualifying.
In the initial phase of the session, Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia/Kalex) led after the first flying laps, before being overtaken by Sergio García (MT Helmets-MSi/Boscoscuro). The Spanish rider led for almost 20 minutes, before being surpassed by Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team/Kalex).
The American improved his time twice in the following laps, but with less than ten minutes to go Chantra set the fastest lap of all: 1m50.841s. Roberts did not improve until the end and finished second just 11 thousandths behind. In a very close session, Fermín Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) set the third fastest time at 0.075s, while his teammate Alonso López closed in fourth just 0.087s off the pace.
The top five was completed by Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex). After finishing 17th in the free practice, championship leader García once again did not make it to the top positions. Nevertheless, he managed to secure eighth place, 0.278s behind Chantra.
Times:
A fantastic Friday for @somkiat35 who tops #Moto2 P1 🙌
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 31, 2024
A job well done for @Joerobertsracer and @Aldeguer54 too 💪#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/oDCfWYiPrr
