Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider gets to grips with Circuit of The Americas over two solid Free Practice sessions.

Learning and adapting to Circuit of The Americas was the main goal for Can Öncü on the first day of the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider enjoyed two positive Free Practice sessions on Friday, improving his best lap time by almost 3.5 seconds from FP1 to FP2.

Thanks to favourable weather conditions, Can Öncü made the most of the 40-minute FP1 session to get acclimatised to the American track. The Moto3 rookie steadily upped his pace throughout the session, despite the low grip level provided by the asphalt. On his 13th lap of 14, the Turkish talent clocked a personal best of 2:23.049.

In the afternoon session he continued to take steps forward, already going faster than in the morning on his first stint. Can Öncü put in eleven more laps of the demanding Circuit of The Americas, gaining more experience ahead of Sunday’s race. Finally, the 15-year-old set the twenty-fifth best time of session -2:19.973-, almost 3.5 seconds quicker than his top lap from the morning.

The Moto3 grid for the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas will be decided tomorrow in Q1 and Q2, which take place at 12:35pm and at 1pm (local time), respectively.

Results (Combined practice times FP1 – FP2)
1. Romano Fenati (Honda) 2:16.679
2. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 2:16.954 +0.275
3. Niccolo Antonelli (Honda) 2:17.121 +0.442
4. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) 2:17.291 +0.612
5. Tony Arbolino (Honda) 2:17.292 +0.613
25. Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:19.973 +3.294

61 CAN ÖNCÜ

“It was a positive day. I wasn’t familiar with the Circuit of The Americas, but lap by lap I felt better on track and we managed to be consistent, so I’m happy. We have taken a step forward with respect to the two previous races, which is very positive. Tomorrow I will try to maintain the consistency that we have shown today, in order to impose a good pace that will allow us to get a good position on the grid for Sunday.”