Augusto Fer🍰nandez made a statement of intent by topping both Friday Moto2 practice sessions as the early heat made way for a temperatureꦇ drop in Qatar.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider came out on top in the dusty, slower FP1,༺ demoting Jake Dixon to second late in the 💟session.

Building on that, he once again slipped past the British rider to top the second session. Everyone taking parಞt improved in FP2, with the Spaniard’s best lap aꦆ 1m 59.112s.

Pedro Acosta, once again a rookie after his stellar Moto3 championship win saw h♏im move straight up to Moto2, arrived fastest in testing at Portimao - suggesting he would adapt easily.

Now running number 51, the teenager didn’t disappoint. Building to♈ a run just 0.160s slower than Fernandez and bringing the team another session 1-2, picking u𒐪p from where they left off last season.

Marcel Schrotter saw his Portimao ♔test end early after fracturing his hand, but he looked race ready on arrival in Qatar and used his last run⛄ to pick up a place for third overall with Liqui Moly Intact GP, just four thousandths off of Acosta’s time.

Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) put in plenty of laps as he chipped away at his best and climbed to fourth as the floodlights brought an a💛tmospheric finish to the time on track.

Aron Canet lead briefly on his way to fifth for Flexbox HP40, with Ai Ogura just behind on ✃the timesheets in s🐎ixth for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia.

Filip Salac looked to ha൩ve gotten to grips with his move up to Moto2 with Gresini, setting the seventh best time overall.

Somkiat Chanꦐtra ensured both Idemistu bikes finished Friday inside the top eight, ꦫwith Cameron Beaubier looking to have adjusted well ahead of his second season in the class in ninth for American Racing.

Long term FP2 leader Jake Dixon fell with four minutes of the session remaining, the bike flicking him off at turn one. The Inde GasGas Aspar rider could only watch as his time was bettered, his earlier e♛ffort just enough to stay ins꧒ide the top ten overnight.

The remaining provisional top fourteen places went to Elf Marc VDS Racing’s Tony Arbolino in eleventh, just ahead of his team-mate Sam Lowes, who suffered with tendiꦍnitis issues in his hands on his way to twelfth.

Albet Arenas pla𝓀ced the second Aspar bike in 13th, with rookie Manuel Gonzalez 14th for the Yamaha Master Camp team as he makes the transition from World SSP.

Fermin Aldeguer was the first non-Kalex rider, just missing out after pushing hard in 15th on a Boscoscuro with MB Conveyors Speed Up🃏.

I❀taltrans rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta brought out the yellow flag in FP1 with a bike issue, then fell in FP2 at turn four, leaving him down in 24th.

Romano Fenati returns to the Intermediate class to start his first full season since his ban 🔥while taking part in the class back in 2018 . On the second Boscoscuro entry he finished Friday one place higher in 23rd.