Aron Canet was much closer to the front during the start of the San Marino GP as he placed 16th, while Deniz Öncü was 21st.

After heavy overnight rain on Thursday, the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli had just dried up before Moto2 action kicked off on Friday, when both sessions were held in the dry.

Times were tight in both sessions with half a second covering the top eleven names at the close of Practice, and a full second covering the top 17.

Forecasts predict rain on Saturday, when the Moto2 action will continue. Aron and Deniz will have a chance to refine their set-ups in FP2 at 09:25 local time before qualifying at 13:40.

Aron Canet, 16th – 1’35.026 

Having worked with his crew to find a solution to a variety of issues that hampered him at the last round, Aron showcased strong speed in FP1, when he set the twelfth fastest time.

The Spaniard looked strong again in Practice. At the midway point of the session, Aron was sat inside the top twelve places.

The 26-year old improved his personal best time by a tenth of a second in his final run, but it was only enough for 16th. He missed a spot in the top 14 by 0.199.

“Today has been the best day of the past eight races” 

Aron’s comments:

“I think today has been the best day of the past eight races. The team and I have done a lot of work together as we were so disappointed after Aragon. The grip here is quite good and that gave me a bit more confidence with the front of the bike – something I’ve been missing recently. I like this track and have had some good races here in the past. We were close to the top ten throughout Practice and I just couldn’t improve like I wanted at the end. But I feel much better here today. Let’s see tomorrow. We’ll aim to qualify as close to the top ten as possible and go from there.” 

Deniz Öncü, 21st – 1’35.273 

Fresh from his brilliant comeback ride in Aragon, Deniz started the weekend off by setting the 16th fastest time in FP1, when he was just over 1s off pace-setter Manuel Gonzalez.

Despite struggling with a small personal issue, the Turkish rider set a number of 1’35 laps through the afternoon, when he posted the 21st fastest time.

The 23-year old is seeking improvements in Sectors 1 and 3 ahead of Saturday, when he will aim for a spot in Q2.

“There are a few clear points that I need to improve in my riding” 

Deniz’s comments:

“We’ve finished the first day here in Misano. It’s been a tricky start to the weekend. I have also had some small personal issues that I’m trying to deal with but it’s nothing major and I feel we are handling it very well. We’ll keep working. There are a few clear points that I need to improve in my riding. Again, we lacked just a little bit in the flying laps at the end of the session. But with a few changes I’m sure we can get into Q2 tomorrow and be as close to the front of the grid as possible. That’s the aim going into tomorrow.”