The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo enjoy a productive day, with the first two Free Practice sessions of the Aragon Grand Prix.

The Aragon Grand Prix began on Friday with the first two Free Practice sessions of the weekend, in which the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders acclimatised to MotorLand. Jaume Masia took a big step forward in the afternoon to place fifth overall, whilst Pedro Acosta finished in 14th place. With these results, both earned provisional positions in Q2 tomorrow at the Aragon Grand Prix.

The day started well for the pair, who enjoyed dry conditions in the morning session. Acosta improved throughout FP1, lowering his times on every run until stopping the clock at 1:59.368 on his penultimate lap of 13. That placed him fourth, 2 tenths off the pacesetter. Masia was 11th with a 1:59.989 from 15 laps of the Spanish track.

Temperatures rose considerably in the afternoon, demanding greater physical exertion from the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo. Masia had a very strong end to the session, moving into fifth overall with a 1:59.033 from 13 attempts. Acosta put in 14 laps, but was affected by traffic at the end of FP2 and finished 19th – 1:59.820.

Tomorrow morning sees a final Free Practice session, in which the riders will set up their bikes for qualifying. Moto3 Q1 will start at 12:35 PM, followed by Q2 at 1 PM local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Deniz Öncü (KTM) 1:58.929
2. Izan Guevara (GASGAS) 1:58.974 +0.045
3. Darryn Binder (Honda) 1:59.005 +0.076
4. Sergio Garcia (GASGAS) 1:59.010 +0.081
5. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:59.033 +0.104
14. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:59.368 +0.439

5 JAUME MASIA

“We feel well because we improved in FP2 compared to FP1. Tomorrow we will work on our pace, as we have good speed. The times in FP3 will improve thanks to the temperature, so we will try to secure a place in Qualifying 2. The objective for Saturday is to be on the first or second row, since that will allow us to fight with the front group on Sunday.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“The day was positive overall. In the morning, in FP1, I felt well and we did a great job. However, in the second session we were unable to complete a good lap because there was a lot of traffic on the track, which prevented us from lowering our times. Even so, the important thing is that we are ready for tomorrow, since we have a good setup for Saturday.”