Jaume Masia and Dani Holgado complete the first two Free Practice sessions of the Qatar GP, placing seventh and fifteenth overall.

The Lusail International Circuit opened the 2022 Moto3 World Championship season with day one of the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday. Jaume Masia enjoyed two positive Free Practice sessions, claiming seventh on the combined timesheets. Teammate Dani Holgado overcame unfamiliarity with the track and lingering discomfort in his left leg to earn a solid 15th spot.

The Moto3 riders were the first to go out on track, in the first Free Practice of the new season. Masia took the start of the day calmly, steadily getting back to the good feeling he has previously had at the Qatari track. The Spaniard took steps forward throughout the session and, on his last attempt of a total of 13, he stopped the clock at 2:07.099, claiming eighth. Holgado had his first experience of Lusail, but made a rapid and positive adaptation, finishing ninth. He completed 13 laps, with a 2:07.120 his fastest.

In the afternoon, Masia continued to work with his team in adjusting the KTM to the track. The Spaniard finished FP2 in sixth position after achieving his personal best of the day – a 2:05.574 – and putting in 13 laps. Holgado continued to progress, lowering his pace from the morning and laying down a quickest time of 2:06.200. It came on his 11th lap of 12 and earned him 15th.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo will have one last Free Practice tomorrow morning, in which to fine-tune the setup of their KTM bikes. Moto3 Q1 will take place at 3:30 PM local time, followed by Q2 at 3:50 PM.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Izan Guevara (GASGAS) 2:04.920
2. John McPhee (Husqvarna) 2:05.344 +0.424
3. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 2:05.414 +0.494
4. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 2:05.445 +0.525
5. Sergio Garcia (GASGAS) 2:05.503 +0.583
7. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:05.574 +0.654
15. Dani Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:06.200 +1.280

#5 JAUME MASIA

“I am happy with how the first day of work went here in Qatar, since we have improved significantly. We feel good with the hard tyre and we are strong. Tomorrow we will work on the soft tyre to be able to be more competitive in qualifying and fine-tune some final details. Today’s effort with the team has been very satisfactory and we will try to continue taking steps forward on Saturday.”

#96 DANI HOLGADO

“It has been a positive day for us. It was my first experience at Lusail and, from the first practice, I felt quite good riding on this track. I’m happy because we’ve done a great job together with the team. We finished Friday satisfied and eager to face tomorrow, in which we will concentrate on continuing to improve.”