Thomas Luthi - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Thomas Luthi finished the opening day of the 2012 Moto2 season as the fastest man after dominating second practice in Qatar. The Swiss rider was the lone Suter in a top six otherwise made up of Kalex motorcycles but try as they might, no-one on the German-made chassis could overhaul Luthi.
The Interwetten-Paddock rider took over from early pacesetter Scott Redding and spent almost the entire session on top from that point. Esteve Rabat did have a brief spell ahead of him but was quickly usurped by Luthi, as well as Claudio Corti and Pol Espargaro in the closing stages. Redding dropped to fifth in the final reckoning with teammate Mika Kallio next up.
Marc Marquez stayed out of trouble to take seventh while Mike Di Meglio completed an impressive start to the season with eighth. Takaaki Nakagami was ninth on the second Italtrans Suter while Toni Elias showed his first signs of competitiveness on the Aspar machine in tenth.
Bradley Smith didn't run at the end of the session when the track was at its quickest and slipped out of the top ten, slipping to 15th. Tech 3 teammate Xavier Simeon was on the circuit but crashed out, leaving him one place further back in 16th.
Gino Rea also lost control of his motorcycle during the session and crashed his Moriwaki at the final corner. The Briton has only completed one flying lap at the time but re-joined the circuit late on to go 27th quickest.
Moto2 Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar: Combined Free Practice Times
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Bike | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Luthi | SWI | Suter | Interwetten-Paddock | 2:00.767 |
| 2 | Claudio Corti | ITA | Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +0.151 |
| 3 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +0.431 |
| 4 | Esteve Rabat | SPA | Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +0.435 |
| 5 | Scott Redding | GBR | Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.569 |
| 6 | Mika Kallio | FIN | Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.593 |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Suter | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | +0.688 |
| 8 | Mike Di Meglio | FRA | FTR | S/Master Speed Up | +0.757 |
| 9 | Takaaki Nakagami | JAP | Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +0.863 |
| 10 | Toni Elias | SPA | Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team | +1.059 |
| 11 | Max Neukirchner | GER | Kalex | Kiefer Racing | +1.082 |
| 12 | Julian Simon | SPA | FTR | Blusens Avintia | +1.119 |
| 13 | Simone Corsi | ITA | FTR | Came IodaRacing Project | +1.132 |
| 14 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Speed Up | Speed Master | +1.302 |
| 15 | Bradley Smith | GBR | Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +1.314 |
| 16 | Xavier Simeon | BEL | Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +1.420 |
| 17 | Alex De Angelis | RSM | Suter | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +1.539 |
| 18 | Dominique Aegerter | SWI | Suter | Technomag-CIP | +1.608 |
| 19 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +1.678 |
| 20 | Randy Krummenacher | SWI | Suter | GP Team Switzerland | +1.767 |
| 21 | Ratthapark Wilairot | THA | Moriwaki | Thai Honda Gresini Moto2 | +1.828 |
| 22 | Nicolas Terol | SPA | Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team | +1.911 |
| 23 | Roberto Rolfo | ITA | Suter | Technomag-CIP | +1.963 |
| 24 | Ricard Cardus | SPA | AJR | Arguiñano Racing Team | +2.150 |
| 25 | Yuki Takahashi | JAP | Suter | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +2.177 |
| 26 | Angel Rodriguez | SPA | FTR | SAG Team | +2.585 |
| 27 | Gino Rea | GBR | Moriwaki | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | +3.442 |
| 28 | Axel Pons | SPA | Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +3.580 |
| 29 | Anthony West | AUS | Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +4.885 |
| 30 | Alexander Lundh | SWE | MZ FTR | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | +5.079 |
| 31 | Marco Colandrea | ITA | FTR | SAG Team | +5.811 |
| 32 | N. Al Malki (WC) | QAT | Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +6.119 |
| 33 | Elena Rosell | SPA | Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +6.167 |
| (WC) Wildcard Entry | |||||
