Jose Antonio Rueda finishes 16th and Deniz Öncü 23rd

The second day of testing in Portimao was affected by adverse track conditions, which prevented the Moto3 riders from going out in the first session of the day. Jose Antonio Rueda went on to improve his times and finish 16th overall. Deniz Öncü worked hard to find a good feeling and was 23rd.

Öncü focused on improving his feeling with his KTM. After sitting out the first session, he went out on track in the second session looking to set a good time, although the wind and a wet track hindered his progress. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider improved his times in the afternoon session, although he continues to struggle to feel fully comfortable. After completing 39 laps on Saturday, he finished in 23rd position overall with a time of 1:49.985.

Rueda continued with his workplan after a positive Friday. Like his teammate, he did not take part in the first session in the morning, avoiding taking risks in the wet conditions. When he did get going, he maintained a solid pace throughout the day and took a step forward in his adaptation to the bike, although he could not improve his times in the second session. Putting in 39 laps of the Portuguese track, Rueda finished Day 2 in sixteenth place with a time of 1:49.441.

The Official Test will end on Sunday after three intense days of work, also concluding the 2023 preseason.

Results (Combined practice times Day 2)
1. Diogo Moreira (KTM) 1:48.353
2. David Muñoz (KTM) 1:48.564 +0.211
3. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 1:48.694 +0.341
4. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 1:48.795 +0.442
5. Scott Ogden (Honda) 1:48.854 +0.501
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:49.441 +1.088
23. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:49.985 +1.632

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We continue working  hard, even though we have not been able to take advantage of the whole day due to the conditions on track. I am still working on finding a good feeling both in terms of my riding and with the bike. We are working hard to achieve that, there is still one day of testing to go and we are going to do our best to get to the start of the season in top shape.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“In our first session we did quite well and we managed to set a quick lap. It was very windy and it was hard to go fast and ride alone. In the second session we weren’t able to improve the times because the wind was so strong. I’m happy because we have once again taken a step forward. We are getting closer and closer and I think we can do well at the first race.”