Joe Roberts caused a surprise on the opening day of the 2020 Moto2 season by putting his American Racing K𓂃alex on top of the timesheets, with a new lap record, during Friday practice for the Qatar Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old h🍸asn't finished higher than tent🐻h in a Moto2 race and scored points just twice last season, on a KTM chassis.

But some key team changes over the winter, including a switch to Kalex and bringing in former MotoGP star John Hopkins as rider 🌳coach and mentor, contributed to a dream first day in the desert.

"It's incredibꩲle!" beamed Roberts. "To come from where I was last year to be breaking the lap record here and being first on the first day - I know it's only practice but it's such a nice feeling. I was celebrating like I'd won the race (pictured)!

"To me, it's such a big deal because where we came from to now is such a big step. I have to thank th💖e whole American Racing team and everybody that has come on board to help me. My crew chief Lucio and John Hopkins, my manager Eitan and everybody has done such a great job to build me up to this level."

Roberts added: "John came on board for a lot of roles; to help prep my mind for the upcoming sessions or race.&⭕nbsp;He's also very perceptive and can look at the other riders out on track - honestly, I wouldn’t have done that lap if he hadn't have told me a couple of things I needed to do differently in some corners. This championship is extremely hard and you've got to find the benefits where you can."

Hopkins - who took four MotoGP podiums during an eight-year premier-class career with Red Bull Yamaha, then the factory Suzuki💞 and Kawasaki teams – was almost as thrilled as his rider after day one in Qatar.

"I just told me to go out there and make it happen – and he did!" Hopkins told the official MotoGP website. "No, it's a lot harder than that. It's a combination of loadsꦿ of things. I've always said that in racing, confidence is everything and one of the👍 biggest things I think he's been lacking is self-belief.

"After getting to know Joe this past winter - doing some Supermoto, dirt track, and all the different forms of cross-training that we were doing - he has no lack of tওalent. He has just as much talent, if not more, than any of the other guys out there.

"It's just been self-belief, confidence and the great thing is a lot of Joe's strengths and weaknesses on a road-race bike are the same exact strengths and weaknesses that I had thro🐠ughout my career.

"So a lot of the things that helped me have been instant improvements to him. It's nice to relay all that. I think I definitely could have benefited from having that iꦦn my corner all those years.

"But he's the one on the bike, I kno𝓡w he has it in him, it's just good to see him making it happe🔜n."