Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Spanish rider clocks best time on first day of Italian GP. Zulfahmi Khairrudin and Arthur Sissis place thirteenth and twenty-first, order respectively.

Tuscany welcomed the World Championship on Friday received with completely overcast skies and a wet track, treat which in the first practice session did not allow the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to fully enjoy the 5.2km Mugello Circuit. In the second session Luis Salom took the fastest lap of 1:59.606, viagra while Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis were thirteenth —2:01.382— and twenty-first —2:01.899— respectively.

In the first 40 minutes of free practice, the riders used wet tyres in order to get a feel for the track. In eighth, Luis Salom was the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider to lap fastest, setting his best lap of 2:10:424. Teammate Zulfahmi Khairuddin achieved his first goal of the weekend, placing amongst the top ten with a time of 2:10.642. Arthur Sissis was fifteenth, with his 2:11.631 lap.

With the passing of the hours between sessions, the track dried out for the second free practice and the riders had a chance to lower their lap times. Luis Salom came out strong and moved to the head of the timesheets from the start. However, his best lap was his last of the day, with a spectacular last sector ride that catapulted him to the top spot. Meanwhile, Zulfahmi Khairuddin —thirteenth— and Arthur Sissis —twenty-first— took good feelings away from their first dry laps at Mugello.

Tomorrow sees the last free practice session, then a qualifying session to decide the grid for Sunday. The weather forecasts again predict rain.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:59.606
2. Maverick Viñales (KTM) 1:59.631 +0.025
3. Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM) 2:00.101 +0.495
4. Danny Webb (Suter Honda) 2:00.361 +0.755
5. Jack Miller (FTR Honda) 2:00.395 +0.789
13. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:01.382 +1.776
21. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:01.899 +2.293

Luis Salom >> Audio
“I felt really good on the KTM today, but there is still room for improvement so we shall keep on working. We will talk with the team this afternoon in order to keep up the work that we are doing, and continue improving on what we can. The track is good, but the pace was in the 1:58’s last year, so tomorrow we need to carry on. That said, last year it was much hotter.”

Arthur Sissis >> Audio
“It wasn’t our best day, but I am happy because my feeling with the bike is good. The first session of the Grand Prix was rather difficult, because it took place in the wet but some sections had started to dry out. These mixed conditions are the worst. In the second session we were able to ride in the dry, and found a good feeling. Our best time was not what we were expecting, but we know that we have to change things. If we are fortunate and ride in the dry tomorrow, then we will be faster.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin >>Audio (English) // Audio (Malaysian)
“It wasn’t an especially difficult day, but it would have been good for us to have been able to put in more dry laps, because we only had one session in which to set up the bike. The feeling wasn’t bad today; I was able to maintain a good pace and also put in a good lap. Tomorrow we will make some small changes and try to improve my riding –above all on the slow corners– and see if we continue progressing.”

*Audio solely for radio use