The Moto3 duo complete their second day of the Official Test in second and 22nd place.

The final test of the 2024 preseason is proving to be very satisfactory for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team. Jose Antonio Rueda was once again one of the fastest riders on Thursday, finishing second on the combined timesheet. Xabi Zurutuza took another step forward to feeling better and placed 22nd.

Rueda feels increasingly stronger onboard the new KTM bike. The Spaniard was one of the dominant forces on Thursday, achieving the best time of the morning session. Consistent in each runout, he showed that he will be one of the riders to beat this season. In the afternoon session, Rueda once again led the way, although he was unable to improve his times due to a drop in temperatures. After completing 69 laps, he finished the day in second position with a time of 1:43.640.

Zurutuza made progress from the first day in Jerez. He continues working on improving his confidence and finding a good feeling with the bike, despite having discomfort after a crash on Wednesday. Zurutuza enjoyed three productive sessions, managing to increase his feeling and at the same time find a good setup for his KTM. Like his teammate, he also completed 69 laps, ending the second day in 22nd with a 1:46.065.

The third final day of official testing will take place on Friday from 11:20 AM.

Combined Results (Day 2)
1. David Alonso (CFMoto) 1:43.315
2. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:43.640 +0.325
3. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 1:43.816 +0.501
4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 1:44.057 +0.742
5. Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM) 1:44.079 +0.764
22. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:46.065 +2.750

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I’m feeling pretty good. We have tried some new things and they have gone much better than yesterday, with good results, so we are on the right track. We are going to continue testing things, although the setup is good already and has helped us to have a good pace riding alone, which will help us during the season. Then we will be off to Qatar, a circuit that I like and that I think we will be very good at.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“The second day of testing is over and we only have one more to go. Today was a difficult day because this morning, when I woke up, I had some pain in my neck and back area due to my crash yesterday. We have improved our feeling compared to yesterday, although that was not reflected in the results. We have worked hard and tomorrow we will try to continue like this to be able to obtain the results we deserve.”