Moto3: Martin maintains the momentum in Misano

He was eighth in FP1 but championship challenger Jorge Martin ended the opening day at the San Marino Grand Prix on top of the pile, setting a 1:42.324 in the second practice session to go 0.092 faster than championship leader Marco Bezzecchi, with fellow Italian rider Enea Bastianini in third – 0.138 back from Martin’s benchmark after ending FP1 down in P19.

The lightweight class managed to dodge the forecasted rain in Misano, with everyone bar Jaume Masia – who had four mechanical problems across the two sessions – improving on their morning times. Fourth on the day was Gabriel Rodrigo, improving by one position from FP1, with Aron Canet dropping two positions from third to fifth to complete the top five on the combined timesheets.

Philipp Oettl was second quickest in the morning, with the German rider finishing sixth overall on day one – just 0.005 off Canet’s time. Lorenzo Dalla Porta was seventh on board his Leopard Honda on home soil, jumping up two positions from ninth in FP1, with fellow Italian and wildcard rider Kevin having a great opening day in Misano to finish eighth overall.

Tony Arbolino and Dennis Foggia rounded out the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively to make it six out of ten on the opening day for the Italians in front of their home fans.