The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider took part in the first two free practice sessions at Le Mans on Friday.

The Le Mans Circuit was the setting for the FP1 and FP2 sessions at the French Grand Prix on Friday, as the fifth round of the season got underway. Can Öncü had a solid day making gradual progress. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider improved on his time from the morning by almost a second and concluded 28th.

It was a sunny start to the day, Can Öncü and his team began to adapt their bike to the demands of the French layout. The young Turkish took full advantage of the 40 minute morning session to resume his work from where he left off at the Jerez test. After two visits to his pit box and a total of 18 laps, Öncü’s best lap time was 1:44.973.

The sky was cloudy for FP2, but the rain ultimately held off. In a practice which saw a high number of crashes, the 15-year-old rookie completed another valuable workout, registering a total of 14 laps. He lowered his FP1 time by almost a second – 1:44.039 – and finished the day in 28th place.

Tomorrow morning, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will take part in the final free practice session – FP3 – and then, at 12.35 pm and 1 pm, the starting positions on the grid for the French Grand Prix will be contested in two qualifying sessions – Q1 and Q2.

Results (Combined practice times FP1 – FP2)
1. Ai Ogura (Honda) 1:42.147
2. Niccolo Antonelli (Honda) 1:42.263 +0116
3. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:42.460 +0.313
4. Andrea Migno (KTM) 1:42.465 +0.318
5. Albert Arenas (KTM) 1:42.482 +0.335
28. Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:44.039 +1.892

61 CAN ÖNCÜ

“Today my feeling wasn’t as good as we had hoped. We need to improve and take a step forward for qualifying tomorrow and for the race on Sunday. We must also see how the weather conditions are for the rest of the weekend, as rain is expected on both days. Regardless of whether it’s dry or wet, we’ll do our best every time we go out on the track.”