Acosta and Masia complete the first two Free Practices for the Spanish GP, concluding 8th and 10th, respectively, on the combined timesheets.

The Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit hosted the opening day of the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, kicking off the fourth round of the 2021 Moto3 World Championship. Red Bull KTM Ajo enjoyed two productive Free Practice sessions, in which their two riders carried out an intense workload with their respective crews. Pedro Acosta finished 8th on the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheets for Friday, with teammate Jaume Masia in 10th. Both competitors have provisional spots in Q2 tomorrow.

The day started well for the Red Bull KTM Ajo pair, who had a productive FP1 in dry conditions. Masia proved to be one of the strongest riders in the session, improving his lap times with each outing on track. Finally, the Spaniard was 4th with a time of 1:46.548 from his last attempt. Masia completed 15 laps of the Andalusian track, just like his teammate. Acosta finished 13th after stopping the clock at 1:46.901 at the end of the practice, just 5 tenths behind the fastest rider.

In the afternoon, the duo took a step forward and lowered their times further. Acosta focused on finding a good setup for his KTM and, in the final part of the session, put in a 1:46.451 which earned him eighth. The rookie rode 16 more laps of the circuit in FP2, as did Masia, who was 10th with a personal best of 1:46.498.

Masia and Acosta will have one last Free Practice on Saturday morning, ahead of qualifying. Q1 for the Spanish Grand Prix will start at 12:35 PM, local time, followed by Q2 at 1 PM.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)

1. Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda) 1:45.651
2. Niccolo Antonelli (KTM) 1:45.907 +0.256
3. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) 1:46.060 +0.409
4. Jason Dupasquier (KTM) 1:46.072 +0.421
5. Darryn Binder (Honda) 1:46.188 +0.537
8. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.451 +0.800
10. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.498 +0.847

5 JAUME MASIA

“We worked hard all day today. We collected as much information about the track as possible, in order to try to draw conclusions that may be useful for us. The lap times are very tight, so we will have to do our best. I want to continue giving my all tomorrow.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It went quite well. We have provisionally got a spot in Q2, and that was the objective for the day. We will have to work hard tomorrow to take a step forward with setting up the bike and improving our grip, as that was our weak point today. On Saturday we will give our one hundred percent once again and, as always, try to enjoy ourselves to the fullest.”