SOLID START FROM NAGASHIMA AT THAILAND GP

Tetsuta Nagashima made solid progress on day one of free practice for the Grand Prix of Thailand as he pulled on the LCR Honda IDEMITSU colours for the first time. The Japanese rider is standing in for injured compatriot Takaaki Nakagami at the Chang International Circuit this weekend and put in a competitive showing on Friday.

Racing MotoGP machinery at the circuit for the first time, Nagashima unsurprisingly took time to adjust during a sunny FP1 as he ended the session in 24^th position. But the 30-year-old grew in confidence during FP2, shaving over a second off his lap time to get into the 1’31s, and finishing the day in 23^rd overall.