Cool and unpredictable conditions couldn’t prevent EG0,0 rider Sam Lowes from setting a hot pace on the first day of Moto2 practice at the fast and flowing Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as strong winds challenged the Brit’s preparation for the ninth round of 2020 competition.

Embarking on a brilliant display in the morning’s opening session, Lowes immediately laid down an early marker before countering with a stunning sequence of fast laps on soft Dunlop rubber at the end of FP1 to put him firmly in control of the timesheets.

His 1’44.122, set at the end of three blisteringly-fast laps, was so impressive that only World Championship leader Luca Marini could circulate within half-a-second of the British rider, awarding Lowes the fastest honours for the fifth FP1 in the last six races.

Knowing his incredible pace from earlier had remained unbeaten, and comfortably secured him a provisional place in Q2, Lowes sensibly opted for a risk-free strategy throughout the afternoon, deciding to complete only 12 laps on track as high winds created challenging conditions but with firm ideas for Saturday’s morning’s continued progress.

“Today was a very good day for me. We found a good pace this morning and some changes we made to the bike felt quite positive," said Lowes.

We have some more ideas to try in FP3 tomorrow to get the bike working better in some corners but overall it has been very positive.

“It is nice to come to a totally different track and be strong. I didn’t do so many laps this afternoon but that was purely down to the fact that the wind was very strong.

"I’ll sleep well tonight and hopefully we can improve again tomorrow.”