Lowes was seventh in FP1, in the cooler temperatures of the morning, with Bassani tenth at this early stage of the tenth round.

Alex was unable to set a lap time in FP2 after a fast fall under braking, quite early in the session. His morning session lap time was still good enough to get him into overall tenth place after completion of the first day, with FP3 and then Superpole Qualifying taking place on Saturday 26 September.

For Bassani, riding at this second home race of 2026, a change in machine set-up between FP1 and FP2 did not have the initial desired effects, in what were warmer track conditions. Improvements were found before the end of the 45-minute-long practice period, with Bassani tenth in FP2 and thus 12th overall.

The first race of the weekend, scheduled to be 23 laps in duration, will take place at 15.30 local time in Italy. Sunday’s competitive action will consist of a ten-lap Superpole Race in the morning and a second 23-lap Race Two, again with a 15.30 start time.

Alex Lowes, stated: “That was a tough, tough day. In the morning it was not too bad. We did some work and tried some things from our Cremona test. This afternoon we had the bike fuelled up for an 18-lap race simulation, and I got it wrong, basically. On the first lap, into T5, I was riding similarly to the FP1 session, but with a full tank of fuel. As I hit the brakes I lost the front, and lost it really early, so there was not really any chance to slow down. As soon as I grabbed the brakes I hit the ground, and did some barrel-rolling in the gravel trap. I had quite a big impact, but I am OK. I feel a little bit beaten up and the guys in the garage have got a bit of work on. We will get the bike fixed up for tomorrow, continue our work in FP3 and try to do a good job.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “We have finished the first day at Cremona after a lot of work. This morning in FP1 the feeling was OK, but this afternoon it has been a little bit more difficult. The track conditions changed a little bit and we struggled, especially in the first pit exit. We recovered a little bit after we tried something different, but I am missing some feeling, especially with the front of the bike. We are working and checking things now, staying positive, and we will see what happens on Saturday.”