Raul Fernandez and Kaito Toba complete the first two Free Practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Styria, with the Spaniard provisionally into Q2.

Just five days on from the Austrian Grand Prix, Raul Fernandez and Kaito Toba were back on-board their Red Bull KTM Ajo bikes on Friday to begin the sixth round of the Moto3 World Championship. The Spaniard earned a provisional spot in Q2, after a solid performance in the FP1 and FP2 sessions took him to seventh overall. Kaito Toba continues to progress, despite having a tough start to the weekend in which he placed 21st.

In the morning, Raul Fernandez resumed work with his crew, matching his personal best from last week in Free Practices. The Spaniard completed a total of 14 laps, and it was on his final attempt that he set his top time of 1:36.523 – taking him to fifth position. Kaito Toba continued to get kilometres and experience under his belt with his KTM machine. The Japanese put in 15 laps, ending FP1 in 18th with a 1:37.112.

In the afternoon, Raul Fernandez headed the timesheets in the first half of FP2. The Spaniard used his 16 laps to work on setting up his bike with Sunday’s race in mind. Finally, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider was 12th in the session with a 1:36.795. His teammate, Kaito Toba, was 16th and able to lower his times to 1:37.100, set on his last attempt of a total of 16. 

The final Free Practice takes place tomorrow morning. The grid for the Moto3 Grand Prix of Styria will be decided in Q1 and Q2, at 12:35 pm and 1 pm CEST, respectively.

Results – FP1 & FP2
1. Celestino Vietti (KTM) 1:35.997
2. Albert Arenas (KTM) 1:36.303 +0.306
3. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:36.398 +0.401
4. Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda) 1:36.409 +0.412
5. Tony Arbolino (Honda) 1:36.458 +0.461
7. Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.523 +0.526
21. Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:37.100 +1.103

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“We started this Grand Prix in a positive way. We are working with our sights set on Sunday’s race, as always, but this time we have changed our method a little. We rode alongside other riders, to work on trying to find that acceleration that we are missing. We have also made some changes to the bike, in order to feel better and be competitive on the brakes.”

27  KAITO TOBA

“This was not our best Friday. We feel that we are struggling a little in the second sector, and in the third and fourth we can still go a little faster. If we can improve there, then tomorrow we will be able to challenge at the front. Both the team and I are going to work hard to continue taking steps forward in FP3. Our aim is to get directly into Q2, so that we can obtain a good position on Sunday’s grid.”