The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders place first and eleventh, respectively.

The first day of the Austrian Grand Prix was held this Friday, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders started the weekend competitive and with a good feeling. Pedro Acosta set the pace and has led the timesheets, while Albert Arenas finished in eleventh position, thousandths of a second outside the Top 10.

The opening session saw the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo make notable improvements and show a good pace. Acosta felt very comfortable from the start and lowered his times lap after lap, his best on Lap 16 of a total of 19. His 1:34.400 was second fastest and only +0.2s off the leader. Arenas arrived in Austria with clear objectives and focused on finding a good feeling with his bike from the get-go. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider continued to improve after a pit stop and took advantage of his last lap to set a 1:35.039, for ninth position.

The second session was interrupted by a red flag in the opening minutes, although the remaining time would be completed. Acosta faced the high temperatures well, managing the session to continue improving his times and setting the pace. He took first position thanks to his time of 1:34.050, close to the track record. Arenas felt comfortable on the first laps of Practice 2, but a technical problem prevented him from resuming the session and contesting the closing minutes after a pause. Arenas set his best time on his eighth attempt: a 1:35.404 put him thirteenth, but the work done in the morning helped him to remain eleventh overall.

Moto2 qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix will start at 1:45 PM local time on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring.

Results (Combined practice times P1 – P2)
1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:34:050
2. Somkiat Chantra (Kalex) 1:34.160 +0.110
3. Ai Ogura (Kalex) 1:34.364 +0.314
4. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 1:34.374 +0.324
5. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 1:34.409 +0.359
11. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.039 +0.989

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“We’ve been able to work a lot on our pace in the afternoon, and we have a lot of data from last year, so we’ve got a lot of work done. We’re happy with how the day went, we’ve got a good pace, the time attack has gone well and we’re competitive. It is a circuit at which things are very tight and the heat will be a factor to take into account. The only thing left to do is continue working like this and have a good qualifying session tomorrow.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

“It has been a short day due to an unfortunate technical problem. But in the time we had on track we have been competitive and that has been the most positive thing. Tomorrow we will try to make the most of Practice 3 to pick up more pace; sometimes these things happen. We are motivated and looking forward to doing well tomorrow in Austria.”