Pedro Acosta was the fastest rider of the day, with Albert Arenas seventh.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders undertook the first practice sessions for the Grand Prix of the Americas this Friday. Pedro Acosta and Albert Arenas battled against tricky conditions caused by light rain, but ended the day with a good feeling. Acosta was the fastest rider of the day, with Arenas seventh overall.

Friday’s first practice session started with a clear sights set on the sky. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders took to the track amidst light rainfall at the Circuit of the Americas. Acosta rode on his own in search of a good pace, steadily lowering his times lap after lap. After a pit stop, he continued his progress and took the chequered flag fourth, with a 2:10.662 lap just 1 tenth off the pacesetter. Arenas worked hard to take a step forward in Practice 1. Despite the fact that at the beginning he found it difficult to set a good time, after returning to the garage he moved up the order to place 18th, thanks to a 2:12.426 achieved on his penultimate lap.

Practice 2 was affected by rain that meant that the session took place in mixed conditions, leading to riders opting for a cautious approach while the track was wet. Acosta remained in the Top 10, and took the top spot in the final minutes, going on to further improve his time for a 2:09.856 on his last attempt.
Arenas was more comfortable in the afternoon session and also bettered his morning times, which has allowed him to enter the provisional Q2 spots. After completing 14 laps, Arenas placed seventh with a time of 2:10.362.

The Moto2 qualifying sessions for the Grand Prix of the Americas will take place on Saturday from 1:45 PM local time.

Results (Combined practice times P1 – P2)
1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2.09.856
2. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 2:10.079 +0.223
3. Aron Canet (Kalex) 2:10.130 +0.274
4. Joe Roberts (Kalex) 2:10.213 +0.357
5. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 2:10.343 +0.487
7. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:10.362 +0.506

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It has been a very positive day. Today I managed to ride at the pace of my best lap in the race last year and that is already a very good sign. The feeling has not been very good, but it was a strange day because it rained, albeit very little. We are improving on the points we wanted to, and I’ll take that away from today. Every weekend we try to take steps forward and I really enjoyed myself, despite the fact that the track is very bumpy. We have a clear plan for tomorrow and we will look for a good position on the grid.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

“The conditions were a bit difficult with the rain, but we were able to ride in the dry. I tried to make the most of FP2, above all to improve my times and find consistency. It is a circuit that is heavy on braking and it will be important to be strong in this aspect. Tomorrow we will continue with our work, but we are on the right path. We will continue to do our best in the coming sessions.”