Luthi surprises and sets the fastest time in Moto2 FP2 in Japan

Rider Thomas Luthi surprises everyone in the Moto2 category and sets the best time in FP2 in Japan. The Swiss rider posted a lap of 1:53.002 right behind Simone Corsi, so watch out for the 12, which could cause trouble at Motegi.

In addition, Luthi was strong in the final part of the session, leaving no room for the rest of his rivals, although Stefan Bradl came within 0.180s on his last lap on the Japanese track, so the category leader will be a threat at Motegi.

Rounding out the top 3 is Yuki Takahashi, who is racing at home and flew on his final lap to secure this good position. He has a lot of experience on this track, and the Japanese rider could be one of the contenders for pole and the race.

Further back is a surprising Domi Aegerter, who also celebrates his 21st birthday today, so happy birthday and good pace at Motegi.

The top 5 went to Pol Espargaró, who continues to progress in the intermediate class and is adapting better every day, while Smith, the dominator of FP1, had to settle for 5th place this time.

A little further back come several Spaniards: Rabat in seventh and Márquez in eighth. The Catalan showed great pace, but during his flying laps he ran into a lot of traffic and couldn’t take advantage to set a time, though it was clear he was on fast laps, even taking more risks than necessary.

The top 10 of FP2 is completed by Kallio in ninth and A. Espargaró in 10th. The elder Espargaró brother also had a good day; it seems this circuit suits the brothers well.

For the rest of the Spanish riders we have Torres 19th, Cardús 25th, Pons 27th, Olivé 31st, Noyes 33rd and Gadea 37th.

Now it’s time for FP3.

Photo | MotoGP Official website