Tony Arbolino continued his excellent recent run of form by setting the 3^rd fastest time on Friday at the Indonesian GP, while team-mate Filip Salac was 15^th.

• Conditions on Friday at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit were among the most challenging of the year. Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac rode in the afternoon P1 session as track temperatures soared to a punishing 60 degrees.
• The action on the fabulous island of Lombok starts on Saturday at 9:25 local time for Practice 2 before qualifying gets underway at 13.45 local time.

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 3^rd – 1’33.853

• Following on from his third straight Moto2 podium last weekend, Tony started Friday well while working on some minor aspects of bike performance. He was 3^rd fastest in FP, just 0.2s away from the quickest time.
• The 24-year old then improved his personal best in the afternoon by 0.376s to again sit 3^rd fastest at the close of P1. He is aiming to change some minor aspects of set-up this evening to help him in Sector 2, and is confident of fighting for a spot on the front row on Saturday.

“I’ll be aiming to qualify on the front”

“It was a nice first day here on Lombok. We had the chance to improve the bike and work on a few things. I think we have to keep going like this to try and squeeze a bit more performance out of the package. It’ll be important to be ready for tomorrow as qualifying is going to be so important. There are a few things to improve in Sector 2, as well as one or two other corners. But after two positive sessions I’m confident of having a strong Practice 2 in the morning and I’ll be aiming to qualify on the front row in the afternoon.”

/// FILIP SALAC, 15^th – 1’34.408

• It was a tough start to the GP for Filip, who struggled in the track’s numerous changes of direction in the morning FP session as he set the 15^th fastest time.
• Filip’s team then altered the set-up of his bike considerably for the P1 session, which paid off. Aside from Sector 2, where he is seeking further improvements, the Czech rider felt much better on his way to the 15^th quickest time of the day.

“We’re still struggling in Sector 2. That’s the only thing we need to improve”

“It was a hard day for us. In the first session we struggled a bit because the bike was very nervous in the changes of direction. And there are a lot of those at this track! I wasn’t able to ride comfortably so we changed quite a few things on the bike before the second session. They worked well as we improved a lot but we’re still struggling in Sector 2. That’s the only thing we need to improve. I feel we’re competitive in the other sectors so I can’t wait for tomorrow. I want to thank the guys in my team for their work today. They’re doing a great job as always!”