Deniz Öncü places fourteenth and Jose Antonio Rueda fifteenth.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders began the Portuguese Grand Prix this Friday with the first Practice sessions of the weekend. After completing P1 with a very good feeling, both riders improved their times over the course of the day. Deniz Öncü was fourteenth and Jose Antonio Rueda fifteenth, on a day with changeable conditions.

The Moto3 duo were very consistent during the 35-minute morning session at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Öncü moved into the top positions after the first few minutes and remained in the Top 5 consistently, reaching as high as second position. The Turkish rider showed a good pace that allowed him to eventually finish fourth, with a time of 1:48.584, achieved on his 13th lap of 16. Rueda was once again one of the most consistent riders on track. At the beginning of the session he worked with his teammate and was also up at the sharp end of the standings. Rueda made steady progress, despite the fact that the track temperature was still somewhat low. With his 1:48.747 from his penultimate lap, he completed the session in sixth position.

In the afternoon, high winds made the task at hand more difficult. Öncü and Rueda repeated their teamwork to combat the conditions and remain at the front. Although Öncü took a step forward and continued to experience a better feeling, the high pace that saw up to 14 riders within a single second of each other put him fourteenth, with a time of 1:48.300 clocked on his 14th lap. Rueda racked up 16 laps, his best a 1:48.333 which put him in fifteenth position.

On Saturday, the final Moto3 Practice session will take place at 8:40 AM, while qualifying will begin at 12:50 PM, local time.

Results (Combined practice times P1 – P2)
1. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 1:47.320
2. Diogo Moreira (KTM) 1:47.470 +0.150
3. David Muñoz (KTM) 1:47.510 +0.190
4. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 1:47.665 +0.345
5. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 1:47.705 +0.385
14. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.300 +0.980
15. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.333 +1.013

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We have made a great improvement today, if we compare it to the test. I’m feeling more happy with the bike and my feeling is much better in general. We still have work to do, but I think that we are finding the correct way to go. Tomorrow we will take a step forward and do our best in qualifying.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“The day didn’t go badly, especially in the first session in the morning. We were fast and I managed to set a good time. In the afternoon it was more difficult for us, and the track conditions were a bit difficult with the wind. In the end I couldn’t improve my time any more, because there were many riders on the track and that made it difficult for me, but I am confident, we are doing a good job and tomorrow we will look for the best result in qualifying.”