Excellent start for Red Bull KTM Ajo at Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo, with Miller setting day’s fastest time and Hanika close behind in fifth.

The Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina held its first World Championship free practices today, but Jack Miller and Karel Hanika adapated quickly to the circuit. The current Moto3 World Championship leader topped the timesheet in both sessions on Friday, whilst the Czech rider took an important step forward in the final runout to set the fifth fastest time of the day –his best placing to date.

In the opening 40 minutes for the Moto3 riders at the Argentine track, Miller was on flying form. Always amongst the fastest riders, the Australian set a phenomenal 1:51.929 lap which left him over 7 tenths ahead of the second best man. His teammate was eleventh, improving with every lap and setting his best time on his final attempt.

Still lacking grip due to the dirtiness of the track, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders continued to lower their times in the afternoon. Miller bested his previous top time on just his second lap, but his best came right at the end with a magnificent 1:50.367. Rookie Hanika was 0.903s off with a time of 1:51.270, after having led the way with just six minutes remaining.

Tomorrow Miller will look to repeat the pole position taken last time out in the GP of the Americas, whilst Hanika will be aiming to improve on his sixth row start for that race. Qualifying begins at 12:35pm local time.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:50.367 
2. Efren Vazquez (Honda) 1:50.630 +0.263
3. Isaac Viñales (KTM) 1:51.164 +0.797
4. Alex Marquez (Honda) 1:51.234 +0.867
5. Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:51.270 +0.903

Jack Miller >> Audio (solely for radio use)

“It’s been a good day and also a fun one, as it is rare to ride at a new circuit. The KTM is working very well and today we took many steps forward. Despite this, I can’t wait to go back out tomorrow and continue progressing. I think that Sunday’s race will be very interesting, because there are many very long straights and it will be difficult to break away. The main focus right now, however, is the qualifying session.”

Karel Hanika >> Audio (solely for radio use)

“I think that we did a great job today, on our first day riding at this track. The asphalt was very dirty, but it improved as the laps went by. We had more grip by the end and could go faster. I like the track a lot, because it is very fast and features some hard braking. I think it suits my riding style. We made some adjustments to the setup and with the tyres in the afternoon and felt better because of this. We set a good time, but we can do better. We will finish off some changes tomorrow to try and repeat our position from today.”