Pol Espargaro was the fastest man in Friday Practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello but Bradley Smith was hot on his heels, continuing his good run of form. The Tech 3 rider was in the top four in both practice sessions and his Mistral 610 may pick up even more pace before qualifying.
Smith, who has struggled particularly for straight line speed so far this year, will be running a new aerodynamic package on his bike tomorrow as Tech 3's hard work to bring updates to their home-built chassis continues. The British rider hasn't finished on the podium since this very race last season and he'll be hoping the upgrade help end that drought.
Espargaro will take some beating though if his performance today is anything to go by. The Pons rider was fastest in both sessions today with his best time of 1:52.745 two tenths quicker than Smith. Along with Espargaro, Thomas Luthi has work to do in order to revive his championship challenge and the Swiss rider was third quickest.
Andrea Iannone was the quickest of the home riders in fourth although he was one of only four riders to go slower in the afternoon than he had in the morning. Championship leader Marc Marquez, fresh from securing a factory Honda ride in MotoGP, was fifth with Simone Corsi becoming the second Italian rider to break into the top six. Scott Redding, eager to bounce back from his first DNF of the year in Germany, was seventh ahead of the Alex de Angelis and Mika Kallio, two men looking to build on podium finishes a week ago.
Mike Di Meglio suffered a crash in the morning session, making a difficult start to life at the MZ Racing Team. The Frenchman has taken the ride after Swedish rookie Alexander Lundh was given his marching orders by the team. Di Meglio was 23rd overall, five places ahead of Britain's Gino Rea who also struggled today.
Moto2 Gran Premio D'Italia TIM: Combined Friday Practice Classification
| Pos | Rider | Constructor | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pol Espargaro |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | 1:52.745 |
| 2 |  Bradley Smith |
Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +0.221 |
| 3 |  Thomas Luthi |
Suter | Interwetten-Paddock | +0.434 |
| 4 |  Andrea Iannone |
Speed Up | Speed Master | +0.484 |
| 5 | Marc Marquez |
Suter | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | +0.516 |
| 6 | Simone Corsi |
FTR | Came IodaRacing Project | +0.563 |
| 7 | Scott Redding |
Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.597 |
| 8 |  Alex De Angelis |
FTR | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +0.601 |
| 9 |  Mika Kallio |
Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.627 |
| 10 |  Takaaki Nakagami |
Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +0.865 |
| 11 |  Johann Zarco |
Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +0.914 |
| 12 | Nicolas Terol |
Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | +0.969 |
| 13 | Esteve Rabat |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +1.042 |
| 14 | Claudio Corti |
Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +1.065 |
| 15 | Randy Krummenacher |
Suter | GP Team Switzerland | +1.077 |
| 16 | Yuki Takahashi |
FTR | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +1.133 |
| 17 | Dominique Aegerter |
Suter | Technomag-CIP | +1.197 |
| 18 | Ricard Cardus |
AJR | Arguiñano Racing Team | +1.419 |
| 19 |  Xavier Simeon |
Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +1.449 |
| 20 |  Ratthapark Wilairot |
Suter | Thai Honda Gresini Moto2 | +1.777 |
| 21 | Roberto Rolfo |
Suter | Technomag-CIP | +1.868 |
| 22 | Alessandro Andreozzi |
Speed Up | S/Master Speed Up | +1.924 |
| 23 | Mike Di Meglio |
MZ-RE Honda | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | +1.948 |
| 24 |  Max Neukirchner |
Kalex | Kiefer Racing | +1.976 |
| 25 | Julian Simon |
Suter | Blusens Avintia | +2.051 |
| 26 | Toni Elias |
Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | +2.187 |
| 27 |  Anthony West |
Speed Up | QMMF Racing Team | +2,459 |
| 28 | Gino Rea |
Suter | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | +2.652 |
| 29 | Axel Pons |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +2.837 |
| 30 | Massimo Roccoli |
Bimota | Desguaces La Torre SAG | +2.977 |
| 31 | Marco Colandrea |
FTR | SAG Team | +3.753 |
| 32 |  Eric Granado |
Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +4.119 |
| 33 | Elena Rosell |
Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +5.277 |
