Masia and Acosta among fastest in qualifying for Austrian GP

14/08/2021

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo go directly into Qualifying 2 for places on the second and third row of the grid, respectively.

 

The starting grid for the Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix was decided this Saturday in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo talents amongst the pacesetters. Both riders made their way directly into Qualifying 2, after improving their lap times from the previous day in FP3. Masia secured a place on the second row of the grid, in fourth position, whilst Acosta will start from Row 3, in seventh.

With the track completely dry and the sun shining for FP3, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 pair continued to work on their preparation for the race. Both took steps forward and rode faster than they had on Friday, Masia placing 10th after stopping the clock at 1:36.171 on his last attempt. He was just 3 tenths off the top spot, racking up 20 laps in the process. Teammate Acosta also put in 20 laps, going 13th thanks to a 1:36.289.

The two riders went straight into Q2 thanks to their great work in Free Practice. In the qualifying session, Masia set his personal best of the weekend so far with a 1:36.093 late on, earning him fourth on the grid. One row behind him, on the third line of attack, will be Acosta, who placed seventh with a 1:36.207 on his fourth lap of eight.

The 23-lap Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 11 AM.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) 1:35.850
2. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:35.921 +0.071
3. Jeremy Alcoba (Honda) 1:36.060 +0.210
4. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.093 +0.243
5. Deniz Öncü (KTM) 1:36.104 +0.254
7. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.207 +0.357

 

5 JAUME MASIA

“I am happy to have qualified on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race. At this circuit it is important to start at the front, in order to avoid problems on the opening laps. Let’s see what conditions we encounter tomorrow in the contest, but regardless of this, we will do our best to get a good result.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It was a positive day. The weather was kind to us throughout Saturday and we didn’t have to deal with rain in any session, unlike yesterday. We are happy with a place on the third row of the grid, as we don’t have too many riders in front of us when it comes to the start. As always, tomorrow we will do our best and, above all, we will try to enjoy the race.”

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