Spanish rider Vinales impressed early on at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he shot to the top of the timings in FP1. In the final moments of the session, Vinales couldn’t quite string together a perfect lap and was beaten to the fastest time by just 0.059s. In the damp FP2, the 26-year-old was strong again and put in an almighty lap late on to top the session by 0.633s.
Evan Bros Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Locatelli was second-fastest for much of the opening free practice session, but dropped to fourth as riders improved on their last attempts. In FP2, the Italian, who could seal the title this weekend, went third quickest in the drying session with his morning time seeing him end the day fourth on combined times.
Behind, GMT94 Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team’s Corentin Perolari was also in the mix to take top spot in FP1, eventually claiming sixth. In the afternoon, the French rider went fourth fastest, just 0.038s behind Locatelli’s time. His teammate for this weekend Kyle Smith, who’s filling in for the injured Jules Cluzel, quickly adapted to the Yamaha R6 and was eighth overall.
Kallio Racing Yamaha’s Hannes Soomer was 13th on combined times, but showed that there’s more pace to come, having set the fifth-fastest time in FP2. The Estonian was just ahead of bLU cRU Yamaha WorldSSP Team’s Andy Verdoïa, who was 14th overall and closer to the front than he’s been so far this season, while teammate Galang Hendra Pratama ended the day 23rd.
For full FP1 results, click here.
For full FP2 results, click here.
