Schrötter tops rain-affected Moto2™ Friday morning session

German heads Marquez and Odendaal as the weather intervenes in FP1 for the intermediate class

A fully dry Friday morning came to an end at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan just as the Moto2™ class ventured out to kick-start their weekend and at the end of the session it was Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) who sat quickest, setting a best time of 1:56.507 in tricky conditions to beat second quickest Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) by 0.301 and third fastest Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) by 0.550.

The session ended in disaster for Marquez though. As the light rain stopped in the latter stages, the Spaniard was nearly half a second up on Schrötter’s fastest time but at Turn 8, the number 73 rider touched the wet paint and suffered a vicious highside. He was taken to the medical centre for a checkup.

Meanwhile, home rider Tetsuta Nagashima (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) finished fourth fastest, with Stefano Manzi (Forward Racing Team) completing the top five. With nothing to gain from the variable track conditions, Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) didn’t set a lap time in FP1, with title rival Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) sixth quickest.

FP2 for the intermediate class will commence at 15:05 local time (GMT +9). What will the weather bring?

Click here for the full results! 

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