First class Friday Moto2 performance from Dixon at French GP
. By Bikeland Staff
Friday’s two practice sessions at the Grand Prix de France were extremely positive for PETRONAS Sprinta Racing’s two Moto2 riders. Both Jake Dixon and Xavi Vierge were at the sharp end for the majority of the two forty-minute sessions, ending the day first and tenth respectively. This is the best Friday result so far in the World Championship for the Brit.
The cold and changeable conditions proved to be good for Dixon, who stayed within the top positions throughout a wet FP1 and ended the session fifth, with a 1min 51.851secs lap. FP2 saw a brief stoppage after the opening five minutes, while the track was cleaned due to an incident. Jake was at the sharp end for the majority of the drying session, held the top-spot for several laps and ended the day on top with a 1min 37.713secs lap.
Vierge made a solid start to the first Moto2 practice session of the day, staying within the top-ten positions for the first half of FP1. Xavi ended the session 21st with a 1min 53.255secs lap. Starting FP2 strongly, the Spaniard was in top-ten contention for the greater part of the session and ended the session, and the day, tenth with a best lap of 1min 38.459secs.
The PETRONAS Sprinta Racing pair will take to the track at 10.55am local time (4.55pm MYT) for FP3, before qualifying gets underway at 3.10pm local time (9.10pm MYT).
Jake Dixon
1st (1'37.713)
It’s really great to start the weekend like this. It’s been really tricky today because this morning was wet; then this afternoon the track was patchy and drying towards the end of the session. You had to be really careful because, like we’ve seen with [Luca] Marini, you could have a big crash. I really hope he’s alright. You needed to be precise with where you put the bike and I’m feeling good. We’ve worked on both wet and dry set-ups: I maybe felt like I struggled a little bit more with the wet than the dry, but we need to work on both. It’s the first time I’ve ridden here with the Kalex, so there’s still some work to do but hopefully we’ll be in a good position for qualifying tomorrow.