It was a positive start for Britain’s Sam Lowes who ended Friday’s Combined Free Practice Sessions in first position

SKY VR46 Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi topped Free Practice One and finished second in the second Free Practice session finishing just +0.104 from the Marc VDS rider. The rest of the top five contained Italtrans Racing and last years pole sitter Joe Roberts, Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Remy Gardner who were all just over three tenths shy from the top spot.

Bo Bendsaynder had a good debut on the Kalex chassis with the Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team finishing in sixth place, with his team-mate the experinced Tom Luthi who managed to sneak his way into a current Q2 spot in 13th position right at the end of the session. Nicolo Bulega had a strong end to Friday’s proceedings, finishing in seventh position and being the last man with half a second of Sam Lowes.

Jake Dixon looked strong throughout Friday and ended in ninth pace; however, the British rider was struggling with pain in his right wrist from his crash in Valencia last year which is something he’ll have to overcome during the weekend to remain competitive. Rookies Raul Fernandez and Tony Arbolino ended their Friday in a positive manner, finishing in eighth and twelfth respectively and being in the current Q2 positions which is very impressive from the Moto 3 stars.

The riders onboard the Boscoscuro chassis Jorge Navarro and Aron Canet have also been able to end Friday inside the crucial top 14 positions, finishing in tenth and fourteenth positions. With Marcel Schrotter ending his first day of 2021 in eleventh position, the way the German would like to be in at this moment in time.

It’s likely that the current combined standings will remain same after Free Practice Three due the high temperatures in Saturdays Free Practice session, but don’t count out the likes of Fabio Di Giannantonio, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Marcos Ramirez causing an upset during the early session. Free Practice Three takes place on Saturday at 14:20 (GMT+3)

Featured Images: marcvds.com, sepangracingteam.com