Jose Antonio Rueda and Xabi Zurutuza complete Friday with the 9th and 22nd fastest times.

The first day of the Thai Grand Prix ended well for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders. Jose Antonio Rueda and Xabi Zurutuza had their first encounter with the Chang International Circuit this season, and the former  finished ninth. Zurutuza made progress on Friday and was 22nd.

Free Practice took place with favourable track conditions for setting up the bikes for the upcoming qualifying sessions. Rueda started the weekend feeling good and tried to climb up the order, getting closer to the top positions. He worked hard with the team to set a fast lap, and on his penultimate attempt clocked a 1:41.664 that put him in eighth place. Zurutuza completed his first laps at the Chang International Circuit. The Moto3 rookie also started the day on the right foot, improving his times lap after lap and feeling increasingly comfortable. He tried to close the gap to his rivals and get closer to the provisional Q2 positions, and after 17 laps was in 19th place, with a time of 1:42.156 late on.

In the afternoon session, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders continued to improve their times and work on their strategy for the weekend. Rueda focused his setup, whilst occupying a position in the Top10 once again. After 15 intense laps, he achieved his best time on his last time round, with a 1:41.460 that took him to ninth and a provisional spot in Q2. Zurutuza focused on riding alone to find a good pace for the race. He was able to lower his times from the morning, although on this occasion his final result left him outside the Top15. Zurutuza was 22nd, thanks to a 1:42.034 on his fourteenth and final lap.

Moto3 qualifying takes place on Saturday from 12:50 pm local time.

Results Practice 1
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 1:40.703
2. Joel Kelso (KTM) 1:41.088 +0.385
3. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) 1:41.156 +0.453
4. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) 1:41.287 +0.584
5. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 1:41.290 +0.587
9. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.460 +0.757
22. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.034 +1.331

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We have finished the first day in Thailand with very good feelings. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the aspect to improve is trying to solve the problem we had in both FP1 and P1. That is what is preventing us from continuing to improve. We hope to be able to ride better and be faster tomorrow. In the end we finished 9th today, but with a good feeling.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“This first day in Thailand was quite positive and the feeling on the bike was good, even though the result does not reflect that. We tried to work alone on track to improve the pace and my feeling with the bike. It was a very positive day and we are looking forward to continuing tomorrow, as we have taken a step forward and are working so that what we do on the track is reflected in the results. The objective tomorrow is to get into Q2.”