The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider and teammate Dani Holgado complete the first two free practices of the weekend at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 returned to work, on the opening day of the Spanish Grand Prix, held at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit. The team’s two talents contested the first two Free Practice sessions of the weekend, with Jaume Masia one of the fastest competitors of the day. The Spaniard finished in third place overall, whilst Dani Holgado was 18th – despite suffering a crash in FP2.

Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix began with Moto3 FP1, held in mixed conditions and with somewhat low temperatures first thing in the morning. Masia started working on the setup of his bike, and finished the session seventh, thanks to a time of 1:49.103, which he achieved on his 11th attempt out of a total of 15. Holgado took a calm approach to the session, completing 15 laps of the Andalusian track. He was 26th after setting a time of 1:50.805.

In the afternoon, the track dried out and temperatures increased before FP2. Masia felt comfortable in the conditions and remained top of the timesheets throughout the session. After stopping the clock at 1:46.533 on his 13th lap of 17, he concluded third. Holgado suffered a crash at Turn 12 in the middle of the runout, escaping unhurt but ending his progress. Despite this, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rookie finished in 18th place with a personal best of 1:47.702, racking up 16 laps of the track.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo will enjoy one last Free Practice session on Saturday morning, before qualifying. Moto3 Q1 will start at 12:35 PM local time, followed by Q2 at 1 PM.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Izan Guevara (GASGAS) 1:46.341
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 1:46.473 +0.132
3. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.533 +0.192
4. Carlos Tatay (CFMoto) 1:46.667 +0.326
5. Deniz Öncü (KTM) 1:46.738 +0.397
18. Dani Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:47.702 +1.361

#5 JAUME MASIA

“I’m happy with today. The conditions during FP1 weren’t the best and I didn’t want to take risks. In the second Free Practice the track improved a lot and it was almost perfect. Thanks to that, we were able to get a good setup for the bike and were able to improve our lap times. It has been a positive day, and tomorrow we will be looking for more.”

#96 DANI HOLGADO

“It was quite a tough day, because we weren’t able to ride in the conditions that we had hoped during FP1, since the track was delicate due to puddles of water. We adapted to the track little by little. In the second session we took a step forward both in terms of the bike and in the confidence myself and the team have. I’m happy because we will have a good bike tomorrow, as we know where we have to improve. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m motivated for qualifying tomorrow.”