Pedro Acosta is third in qualifying sessions in Portimao, with Albert Arenas seventh.

Qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix took place this Saturday in Portimao. Both Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders went directly into Q2, with Pedro Acosta going on to earn third place on the grid. Albert Arenas continues to make progress and set the seventh fastest time of the day.

The third and final Practice session took place in the morning with optimal conditions, allowing Arenas and Acosta to both lower their lap times. Once again, Acosta remained in the top positions and after the first half of the session he suffered a small crash at Turn 3, remounting and setting a 1:42.128 time from his final lap for third place. Arenas fought hard to find a comfortable pace and set a good time in FP3. After completing 14 laps, he also clinched a place in Q2 thanks to his 1:42.654 time on his twelfth attempt.

The Moto2 riders maintained a high pace in Q2, despite strong winds. Acosta was one of the early pacesetters in the session, and completed 8 laps, although it was on his last that he snatched third on the grid, thanks to his 1:42.607. Arenas got more at ease with the KTM and the conditions, going on to take a step forward in qualifying and finish with the seventh best time: A 1:42.867, achieved on his fourth lap of 8.

The 21-lap Moto2 Portuguese Grand Prix race will start tomorrow, 26th March, at 12:15 PM local time.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Filip Salac (Kalex) 1:42.323
2. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:42.381 +0.058
3. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.607 +0.284
4. Celestino Vietti (Kalex) 1:42.661 +0.338
5. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 1:42.728 +0.405
7. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.867 +0.544

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“We are starting from the front row at the first race of the year, when last year qualifying was one of our weak points. We have taken a big step forward and had a good pace during the session. Today the wind was quite strong, so we’ll see how that affects us tomorrow. The race will be long and we will have to be calm, because we’ve been doing a great job all weekend.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

“I’ve had a bit of a bumpy start to the weekend, but little by little we’ve improved and I’m feeling more and more comfortable. We’re making good progress and we’re getting more and more competitive. Tomorrow will be a long race and I’m still adjusting to the bike and the team, although we are on the right path. I am getting faster and I feel more comfortable all the time. Today we got a good result and tomorrow we will try to get another and enjoy ourselves as much as possible.”