Augusto Fernandez finishes Friday in second position, with Pedro Acosta ninth

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders ended the first day of the Catalan Grand Prix with solid results in Free Practice. Despite the high temperatures they had to face throughout, both Augusto Fernandez and Pedro Acosta earned provisional spots in Q2. Fernandez was the second fastest rider of the day, while Pedro Acosta was ninth.

Red Bull KTM Ajo duo began the weekend with track temperatures already up to almost 50ºC in FP1. After a first stop in the garage, Fernandez maintained a good pace and set a time of 1:44.474 on his 12th lap of 17, earning him second place. Acosta was seventh thanks to his 1:44.828, putting in a total of 19 laps of the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit.

The circumstances were much the same for FP2, and Acosta started the session amongst the frontrunners. After 18 laps in the afternoon, he was third with a 1:44.937. Fernandez was further down the order at the beginning of FP2, but picked up his pace with ten minutes to go and moved into the Top 3. In the final stretch he aimed for a quick lap, but suffered a small crash when trying to avoid another rider. He was sixth in the session with a time of 1:45.088 from his 15 laps, and second overall thanks to his FP1 lap. 

Q1 for the Catalan Grand Prix will take place on Saturday at 3:10 PM, with Q2 at 3:35 PM local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1 – FP2)
1. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:44.450
2. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:44.474 +0.024
3. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 1:44.529 +0.079
4. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 1:44.575 +0.125
5. Bo Bendsneyder (Kalex) 1:44.732 +0.282
9. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:44.828 +0.378

#37 AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ

“I’m happy with this first day, despite the small crash at the end when trying to avoid another rider who was going slower than us. I went onto the dirty area of the track and crashed, but I was unhurt. I feel good on the bike and at this circuit. Montmelo is a circuit that I like a lot and where I have achieved good results before. I hope to have a good weekend and fight for the victory on Sunday.”

#51 PEDRO ACOSTA 

“It’s been a good day. FP1 is always difficult because you have to adapt to the track in a new class. In FP2 we had a good feeling and we are improving our lap times. It is important for us to have that pace in qualifying tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes on Saturday, as perhaps here it’s a little tougher than at other circuits. When you have a reference to follow you can improve much more. We want to get a good result because it will help us for the race. The most important thing is to be focused on our work.”