Luis Salom, Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis begin at the front on first day of Spanish GP weekend, amidst power problems at Jerez.

The action at the Circuito de Jerez began today with two Moto3 practice sessions. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders started strong in preparation for the Spanish GP, on a day in which the track experienced problems with the power supply. Despite this, the sessions were uninterrupted. Luis Salom and Zulfahmi Khairuddin were fourth and fifth, respectively, on the combined timesheet, whilst Arthur Sissis placed eighteenth.

Luis Salom was the fastest rider in the final preseason test at Jerez and began the Spanish GP weekend in similar fashion. After fifteen steady laps, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider waited until his penultimate time around the track to clock the fastest lap of the morning session: 1:48.443. Zulfahmi Khairuddin, seventh, and Arthur Sissis, eighth, also began solidly under fresh temperatures that only reached 17ºC on track.

The second free practice session was rather more complicated, due to external circumstances. The track was without electricity during most of the session, providing extra work for the Red Bull KTM Ajo technicians and mechanics. The riders continued to put in laps and Zulfahmi Khairuddin —fourth— was the fastest Red Bull KTM Ajo man. He dropped 7 tenths off his morning time to record a 1:48.455. Salom placed sixth, whilst Arthur Sissis was eighteenth and also improved his morning best.
A final free practice and qualifying to determine the starting grid on Sunday, take place tomorrow.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM) 1:47.660
2. Alex Rins (KTM) 1:47.685 +0.025
3. Maverick Viñales (KTM) 1:48.315 +0.655
4. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.443 +0.783
5. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.455 +0.795
18. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:49.414 +1.754

Luis Salom >> Audio
“The first practice session went very well and we got some good times, I think. In the second session I found it a little more difficult, because we had a small problem with the front end. It will be sorted tomorrow, because we know what we have to do and how to work for it to be so.”

Arthur Sissis >> Audio
“For me it was a rather good day. Above all because I don’t normally go fast on the first day of a Grand Prix. In the first session I rode really well and we managed to get a good hot lap. In the afternoon it was very hot and the conditions were really tough. The tyres were going off. I felt better on the bike in the second session, but I clocked practically the same time. I would like to improve my setup for the slow corners, because I’m doing pretty good on the fast ones. I am comfortable with the bike and this is the most important thing, so I hope to be able to improve.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin >> Audio (English) // Audio (Malaysian)
“I am very happy with this first day at Jerez, because we went really well. I found a really good setup for the bike. Things went much better than in the tests here, as the bike is working well and I know how to ride it. We hope to improve upon my fastest lap again tomorrow.”

*Audio solely for radio use