Aleix is back on the track after his accident in Australia that forced him to miss the Malaysia race and after surgery 15 days ago during which screws and a plate were applied to his left hand in order to reduce and stabilise the fractures of the fourth metacarpus and a finger.

Aleix took advantage of FP1 in the morning to get a feel for the conditions of his hand. In the second session, the Spanish rider tried to push with his Aprilia RS-GP, significantly improving in comparison to FP1 (almost a second faster) and he stayed among the leaders for the entire session but a crash just a few minutes before the end kept him from attacking for a top-ten spot. This was a result that seemed to be well within his reach, given the fact that his ideal time places him in ninth place. Now the Saturday morning session remains to get into the top ten and skip the first qualifiers.

Sam Lowes struggled to find the right speed on his flying lap and finished in 24th place with a time of 1’32.587. He also has FP3 to improve in view of the qualifiers.