Zarco Ominous In Assen FP2

Jun 25, 2015
2 min read

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Johann Zarco sent a statement of intent to rest of the Moto2 paddock after a sensational lap saw the French rider end the second free practice session fastest. Zarco guided his Ajo Motorsport Kalex to a 1:37.670 as well as a very consistent run of low to mid 1:38 laps.

Simone Corsi sat atop the time sheets for a while thanks to finding a two from Tito Rabat. The Italian couldn't quite match the pace of Zarco as the session drew to a close and dropped to 2nd with a 1:37.866.

Sam Lowes topped the opening practice of the weekend and looked a good form this afternoon with the 3rd fastest time of the day – 1:37.878. The Briton hasn't been on the podium since the Argentine Grand Prix and needs to do so this weekend if he is to reel in runaway leader Zarco.

Jonas Folger began to chip away at the top five in the final portion of the 45-minute session and looked set to go top on his final lap but the German lost a little time in the final sector, ending up 4th quickest instead. Still a very respectable time from the AGR rider.

Alex Marquez rounded out the top five after a very strong day for the Marc VDS rider. Marquez has struggled to get used to Moto2 machinery, but has steadily climbed his way up the order in recent races. What will definitely put a smile his face is the fact that he finished ahead of team-mate Tito Rabat who was 7th. It is worth noting however that Rabat was running the harder option rear Dunlop tyre as he focused more on race set-up.

Alex Rins was 8th quickest, with Franco Morbidelli 9th and Julian Simon 10th. Morbidelli will be starting from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying position tomorrow after he was penalised for his involvement in Axel Pons' crash at turn four during the Catalan Grand Prix. His weekend will very much be focused around race settings now.

Jasper Iwema has made a welcome return to Grand Prix racing this weekend as a wild card in front of his home crowd. Unfortunately his session was ended a little earlier than the rest after he crashed. Thankfully he was unhurt and will be focused on improving upon his time from today in FP3 and qualifying tomorrow.

FP2 Top 10:

1st Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport Kalex, 1:37.670

2nd Simone Corsi, Athina Forward Racing Team, 1:37.866

3rd Sam Lowes, Speed Up Racing, 1:37.878

4th Jonas Folger, AGR Team Kalex, 1:37.948

5th Alex Marquez, EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex, 1:38.152

6th Xavier Simeon, Federal Oil Gresini Team Moto2 Kalex, 1:38.160

7th Tito Rabat, EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex, 1:38.272

8th Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex, 1:38.275

9th Franco Morbidelli, Italtrans Racing Team Kalex, 1:38.290

10th Julian Simon, QMMF Racing Team Speed Up, 1:38.413

Full results can be found here: