The two pull clear of Fernandez and Chantra on Friday, with Ogura seventh.

Inde GASGAS Aspar Team’s Jake Dixon is the rider to beat after Friday’s running at the OR Thailand Grand Prix. His 1:36.280 puts him 0.173 clear of Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up), with World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) third quickest despite a late spill. Japanese GP winner Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) finished seventh and, in the event of rain on Saturday morning, he too is safely through to Q2.

Fernandez topped FP1 before all but three riders improved in the afternoon, and Dixon took to the top. Lopez also improved after a technical problem in FP1, and Fernandez crashed late in the session, but rider ok and still third overall. Home hero Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) dusted himself off from an early crash to up the pace and end the day fourth.

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) takes fifth ahead of Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), with Ogura on a 1:36.725 in P7. Rounding out the top 10 were Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40), Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP), and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up). Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) is provisionally into Q2 also despite a spill at Turn 3 with five minutes to go, ahead of Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing).

Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40), however, is outside the top 14 after a second crash of the day when he lost the front at Turn 12. The Spaniard is 16th as it stands.

See if the rain comes or stays away on Sunday, with the last push for direct Q2 spots in FP3 taking place on Saturday at 09:55 (GMT +7) before qualifying 13:30!

FRIDAY: TOP 3
1 Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) – Kalex – 1’36.280
2 Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpedUp) – Boscoscuro – +0.173
3 Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – Kalex – +0.284

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