2013 Moto2 Valencia February Day 1 Test Times: Terol Heads Spanish Trio

Nico Terol got his 2013 season off to a good start at Valencia, the Mapfre Aspar rider ending the first day of testing on top of the timesheets. Local boy Terol, who has a corner named after him at the Valencia circuit, is always fast at the track, and Tuesday was no exception, the Spaniard ending in the top three in all three Moto2 sessions.

Terol leads a group of Kalexes, Julian Simon's good form on the Italtrans bike continuing, ending ahead of 2012 Moto2 runner up Pol Espargaro. Espargaro, hotly tipped for the 2013 title, took his time getting up to speed, ending the first two sessions in 5th and 10th respectively, before pulling out a blistering lap at the end of the day to top the final session, and take 3rd overall. Scott Redding had a solid first day of testing at Valencia, the Marc VDS rider benefiting from the combined rider/weight limit, as it brings the lighter riders much closer to the combined weight of Redding and his Kalex Moto2 machine. Times among the Moto2 class are tight: under two tenths separate the top three, while the top ten are all within a second of Terol's best lap.

Sandro Cortese is the fastest of the class rookies, the reigning Moto3 champion ending the day in 24th aboard the Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex, nearly 2.8 seconds off Terol. He was only just fastest, though: Tech 3 rookie Louis Rossi finished just four thousandths of a second behind Cortese, while the British pair of Kyle Smith on the Avintia Kalex and Danny Kent on the second Tech 3 bike are under half a second behind Cortese.

Most of the teams spent a lot of the day working on distributing any ballast they have to carry to achieve the combined rider and bike weight limit, with only a few men already over that limit. Weather conditions, while dry, were not exactly ideal, with a strong wind keeping the track temperature down, especially in the morning. The wind looks set to die down for the next two days of testing, with the final day on Thursday looking to be the best day of the test. Testing continues tomorrow.