Scott Redding the fastest in the Moto2 FP1 at Indianapolis

After the first contact of the Moto2 riders with the asphalt this weekend, the fastest so far has been Scott Redding, who stopped the clock at 1’46.689, and who, right at the end, went for it and set a time 0.659 ahead of Smith.

Third place went to Randy Krummenacher. It seems the Swiss rider handles slippery surfaces well and is 0.799 behind Redding. Behind him is Marc Márquez, who crashed with just a few minutes left and was unable to improve his times any further. The crash was clean and neither the rider nor the bike was damaged.

Practice has been conditioned by what will be the key throughout the weekend, the grip. It seems the resurfacing has done the circuit no favours, and most riders agree that the old section is the best.

Perhaps the American riders have received this change best, as they have extensive experience on dirt track, and this discipline gives them great control over sliding.

Both Ricard Jové and Aspar agree that the track is not in optimal condition. They talk about how much it slides, as their riders have told them. This may uncover some hidden talent on the grid, and we may see some surprises this weekend.

Kenny Noyes, who had electrical problems, lost much of the practice session. A shame for a rider who feels he is racing at home and comes with a lot of motivation. Despite this loss of time, he finished 11th, which is not a bad position.

Another rider who was up front was Tito Rabat, who for part of the session looked like he would fight for the best times. He finished in tenth place, but he will surely keep improving in the next sessions.

Ricky Cardús gave us a surprise: despite having a fever and aches, he managed to place himself just behind Aleix Espargaró (eighth), ninth, and also Bradl who, contrary to what he usually does, only managed to get a sixteenth place.

Julián Simón , who has been dealing with problems and was hit hard by the lack of grip, finished 26th, but we are sure the 60 will come back stronger in the next practice sessions.

Our multi-tasking CEV riders, Jordi Torres and Carmelo Morales, achieved 31st and 37th place respectively. Carmelo has returned to the Moriwaki chassis. It was surely not the best decision for him, but that is what world championship contracts bring, and at least he is there, which is where we want to see him.

In Moto2, unlike the trend in MotoGP and 125cc, the differences from last year’s times do not seem to be so large. However, this is partly due to the development of the bikes compared with last year, which cannot be compared with the 125cc (which did not evolve). Furthermore, the track is starting to clean up in the racing line.

We wish all the best to Kenan Sofuoglu, who suffered a high-side and took a hard hit against the asphalt. He is at the mobile clinic, and as soon as we know anything we will report via Twitter and Facebook.

FP2 is coming up shortly; let’s see if the times improve and the differences, which seem to be very large between riders of all categories, are reduced.