Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 enjoy positive opening day of Italian GP

27/05/2022

Jaume Masia finishes second overall from FP1 and FP2, with Dani Holgado 14th

The Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello hosted the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix on Friday, with the first two Free Practice sessions of the weekend. Jaume Masia, together with his team, set the second fastest time of the day, bouncing back after a crash in the FP2. Dani Holgado started the event well, and was 14th on the combined timesheets.

FP1 was held in dry conditions and amidst pleasant temperatures. Holgado had a solid session in which he made steady improvement, finishing in ninth place with a time of 1:58.285. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rookie put in a total of 16 laps in the practice. Masia quickly moved to the top of the timesheets, and when the chequered flag fell he was 11th, stopping the clock at 1:58.307 on his last lap of 15.

Temperatures rose considerably for FP2, making it difficult for all of the Moto3 field. Masia would suffer a crash at Turn 12 when he collided with another rider who had gone down in front of him. Thanks to the exceptional work of the team, he was able to go back out with five minutes remaining, ending the practice on top with a time of 1:57.134 on his last lap of 9. Holgado continued to work and adapt to the Italian track aboard his KTM, and a further 14 laps allowed him to clock a time of 1:59.222, putting him 20th in the session.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders will enjoy one last Free Practice session to fine-tune their KTMs on Saturday morning before the fight for pole position. Moto3 Q1 is scheduled for 12:35 PM local time, followed by Q2 at 1 PM.

 

Results (Combined practice times FP1 – FP2)
1. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 1:56.916
2. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:57.134  +0.218
3. John McPhee (Husqvarna) 1:57.283  +0.367
4. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 1:57.394  +0.478
5. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:57.775  +0.859
14. Dani Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:58.285  +1.369

#5 JAUME MASIA

“I want to thank the team, as they have done a great job to get me back on track after the crash in FP2. I also want to thank the Moto2 crew, who came across to help. As for the rest of the day, this is a fast circuit that might be a bit more of a struggle for our style, but I’m adapting well. The important thing is to get to Sunday comfortable and enjoy riding. We’re on the right path, so now it’s time to analyse things and tomorrow we’ll give it even more.”

#96 DANIEL HOLGADO

“Today was a great day for us, because we were fast from FP1 and that is positive. In the first session we were ninth and with that time we got a provisional spot in Q2. In the afternoon we worked with the hard tyre; we didn’t get the lap time that we wanted, but we already knew that we wouldn’t, so I’m happy because we saved a soft tyre for tomorrow. The goal will be to make it directly into Q2 tomorrow. We hope to qualify well, if the weather holds out, and place in the Top 10. Getting onto the second or third row would be ideal.”

 

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