Simone Corsi made an impressive debut today at NTS RW Racing GP on the Misano circuit. The Italian finished the first day of the GP of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini in 21st place in the combined standings. Teammate Bo Bendsneyder finished the day in 26th. Corsi was more than a second faster in the second free practice than in the first session. In the first practice he made it to 1.40.477. Bendsneyder was slightly faster with 1.39.935. In the afternoon the roles were reversed and Corsi set the twentieth time with 1.39.225. Bendsneyder was a little behind with 1.39.772. Corsi knows the track like the back of his hand, but has only been on the NTS once before, during a test in Austria. At Misano – the circuit where he made his Grand Prix debut in 2001 – the 32-year-old Italian replaces Steven Odendaal, who split with NTS RW Racing GP after Silverstone. “Simone brings a new impulse to the box,” commented NTS RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen. “On his first day on this motorcycle, he is at less than a second from the top: that’s great. He does indicate that he wants a number of things differently about the machine and we too learn from that. On the other side of the box, with Bo, there is more work to do. He is slightly behind. The times are ok in most sectors, but in sector 2 he loses too much.”
Bo Bendsneyder: “In FP1 I had a good feeling with the hard tyre, but in FP2 we were unable to make a step. It was not a great day and that is why I am happy that Corsi is here. Now we can see and compare where he is faster and what he does differently. I think we can only benefit from that.”
Results FP2:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 1’38.325 |
| 2 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’38.374 |
| 3 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Ego Speed Up | 1’38.463 |
| 4 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 1’38.473 |
| 5 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 1’38.494 |
| 6 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’38.541 |
| 7 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’38.567 |
| 8 | Remy GARDNER | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 1’38.591 |
| 9 | Sam LOWES | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’38.637 |
| 10 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’38.708 |
| 11 | Mattia PASINI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 1’38.723 |
| 12 | Iker LECUONA | American Racing KTM | 1’38.752 |
| 13 | Thomas LUTHI | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1’38.874 |
| 14 | Xavi VIERGE | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’38.946 |
| 15 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’38.956 |
| 16 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1’38.965 |
| 17 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’39.001 |
| 18 | Jorge NAVARRO | Ego Speed Up | 1’39.084 |
| 19 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’39.211 |
| 20 | Simone CORSI | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’39.225 |
| 21 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 1’39.267 |
| 22 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’39.279 |
| 23 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 1’39.290 |
| 24 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’39.772 |
| 25 | Joe ROBERTS | American Racing KTM | 1’39.897 |
| 26 | Lukas TULOVIC | Kiefer Racing | 1’40.009 |
| 27 | Philipp OETTL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 1’40.144 |
| 28 | Jake DIXON | Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team | 1’40.151 |
| 29 | Adam NORRODIN | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’41.032 |
| 30 | Xavi CARDELUS | Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team | 1’41.671 |
| 31 | Andi Farid IZDIHAR | Honda Team Asia | 1’42.796 |
| 32 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com
