Rain hinders Friday action for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 in Valencia
12/11/2021Pedro Acosta and Jaume Masia complete FP1 for the Valencia Grand Prix, with FP2 affected by track conditions.
The last round of the 2021 season, the Valencia Grand Prix, started with a day of practice affected by rain. Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team had a solid dry FP1, but were only able to enjoy 10 minutes of track work in the afternoon. On their morning times, Pedro Acosta finished 5th on the combined timesheets, with his teammate, Masia, in the 18th position.
Cloud and low temperatures were present during FP1. Acosta improved his feeling throughout the session and eventually placed fifth with a time of 1:39.893, just 3 tenths off the top spot. The recently crowned Moto3 World Champion completed 17 laps of the Valencian track, the same as his teammate. Masia was 18th after stopping the clock at 1:40.465. The rain appeared at the end of the practice, preventing the riders from improving their times.
That rainfall led to mixed conditions when FP2 came around. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo avoided taking unnecessary risks and only took part in the last 10 minutes of the session, hoping for the track to dry out. Acosta concluded in 8th thanks to a time of 1:42.207, set on his fourth attempt of five. Just behind him, teammate Masia finished 9th with a 1:42.217 lap on his final run of 7.
Tomorrow morning, the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo will have one last chance to finetune their KTM bikes. The fight for the last Moto3 pole position of the year will get underway at 12:35 PM with Q1, followed by Q2 at 1 PM local time.
Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Izan Guevara (GasGas) 1:39.561
2. Darryn Binder (Honda) 1:39.609 +0.048
3. Andrea Migno (Honda) 1:39.745 +0.193
4. Filip Salac (KTM) 1:39.770 +0.209
5. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:39.893 +0.332
18. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:40.465 +0.904
5 JAUME MASIA
“Our first contact with the track, at the beginning of FP1, went well. Then, with a new tyre, we found it a little harder to improve. In FP2, we took the opportunity to find a feeling and ride more, since the track conditions didn’t allow us to gather information for tomorrow. On Saturday we will build on what we were doing during the first Free Practice in the dry, since we were clear about what we should do with the bike. I am really looking forward to getting back working and taking new steps forward.”
37 PEDRO ACOSTA
“It was a good day today. I’m happy because we finished fifth on the combined timesheets, even though we were able to do few laps in FP2. The difficult conditions on track meant that we were unable to improve our times in the afternoon. Tomorrow it will be important to find a good pace, qualify well and, above all, decide which tyres will be better for us in Sunday’s race.”