Tony Arbolino posted an eye-catching lap in P2 to secure the fastest Moto2 time of Friday at the Buddh International Circuit, while Sam Lowes was 14^th.

• Friday was a chance for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team duo Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino to sample the spectacular Buddh International Circuit for the first time.
• In a revised schedule, the entire Moto2 field had two 55-minute Practice sessions to learn the track and adapt their bike settings to the demanding 5.01km layout.
• Due to a trackside marshall-related problem after lunchtime, the second Moto2 session of the day was delayed by 45 minutes, and eventually started at 15:05 local time.

/// SAM LOWES, 14^th – 1’52.947

• After a dramatic journey out to India, which resulted in a late arrival to the country on Thursday afternoon, Sam was quickly up to speed in the weekend’s first session, when he placed 10^th, while learning the track and spending all 55 minutes on the same tyres.
• In the afternoon, the 33-year old tested different tyre compounds, and worked on suspension settings. Despite feeling tired after his long trip, a late lap pushed him to 14^th at the end of P2.

“It’s really nice to ride with a lot of fun sections”

“Overall, I’m happy with today. No one really knew what the track would be like but I have to say it’s better than I expected. It’s really nice to ride with a lot of fun sections. The grip level is also good, so it was really positive to ride it for the first time today. I felt a little tired in the afternoon and I felt I didn’t ride so well in P2. So, I need to get a good sleep tonight to be ready for tomorrow. But there are some positive points and we have some tyres left for Saturday. After the week I’ve had, today was a good day. I’m quite happy with some things, others we have to improve. I’m doing a couple of corners a bit wrong, so we’ll work on that tomorrow. But a positive day and I look forward to riding tomorrow. I feel like we can do a good job in qualifying!”

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 1^st – 1’52.105

• After his heartening fightback to 4^th place at Misano, Tony started the Indian Grand Prix on the front foot, finishing P1 in 6^th place, while learning the track and using the same tyres throughout.
• The 23-year old spent most of the afternoon working on race rhythm with Dunlop’s soft option rear tyre. A strong time attack at the end of P2 then saw Tony top the session by 0.065s from Pedro Acosta.

“I fully believe we can be there at this race”

“The first day here on track was quite important as we had to learn the new track during our first time on the bike. We’ve been working well with our base setting all day, which was the most important thing for me. I fully believe we can be there at this race on Sunday and our target is to improve my feeling on the bike in certain conditions – like in the mid-corner point. This is what we’re trying to do. So, let’s work on that tonight and do a good day tomorrow. I’m sure we will be there!”