The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo completed two positive Free Practice sessions on the first day in Portugal, placing third and fourth, respectively.

The Algarve International Circuit held the opening day of the Algarve Grand Prix this Friday, with Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 having both their riders in the Top 4 on the combined timesheets for FP1 and FP2. Jaume Masia put in the third best time of the day and, just behind, title contender Pedro Acosta was fourth. Thanks to these results, both are provisionally through to Q2 tomorrow.

Sunshine in the morning created optimal track conditions for FP1. Acosta was very strong from the start, leading the way for much of the session, and was comfortable as well as competitive. Finally, the Spaniard finished in sixth place with a time of 1:49.168, which he achieved on his penultimate lap of 14. Masia completed 14 laps and was ninth thanks to what was also his penultimate time: a 1:49.455.

In the afternoon, the pair confirmed their good feeling, and both rode faster than in the morning. Masia had a solid conclusion to the session and, on his last attempt of a total of 15 laps, he set a personal best of 1:48.258, earning him third. Just behind him was Acosta, who was fourth with a time of 1:48.267, clocked on his 15th and final lap. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider headed the timesheets on several occasions in FP2.

Tomorrow morning the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo will finish setting up their bikes in FP3, followed by Moto3 Q1 and Q2 for the Algarve Grand Prix at 12:35 PM local time and 1 PM, respectively.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) 1:48.026
2. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 1:48.041 +0.015
3. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.258 +0.232
4. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.267 +0.241
5. Adrian Fernandez (Husqvarna) 1:48.375 +0.349

5 JAUME MASIA

“The conditions we experienced today were very different from those we had in April. The good thing is that now we have a few more contests under our belts, and we arrive here with many kilometres completed – and with a better understanding of the bike. Overall, I’m happy with how things went on Friday. We focused on obtaining useful information to find the best setup, with the race in mind.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“Overall, the first day went well. The weather conditions were good, so we took the opportunity to try out different things. The rest of the riders went very fast, so we will have to push even harder tomorrow if we want to fight at the front. This afternoon we will work hard with the team to take further steps forward, looking at qualifying and the race.”