The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider earns his best ever grid position with second at Mugello, as teammate Jaume Masia places fifth.

The starting grid for the Moto3 Italian Grand Prix was set on Saturday at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello with reason to be optimistic for the Red Bull KTM Ajo. Their riders were both on the front two rows, with Pedro Acosta in second place and Jaume Masia fifth. The Qualifying 2 for the sixth round of the year was affected by a red flag at the end of the session, shown due to a serious crash.

In the morning, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo participated in the final Free Practice of the weekend, in which they continued to take steps forward and lower their times. Masia was one of the few riders to go round in under the circuit record, thanks to a time of 1:56.358 that put him second, one tenth off the top spot. The Spaniard completed 14 laps of Mugello, just like his teammate, Acosta. The rookie continued to gain experience at the Italian circuit and was 15th with a 1:57.209.

Acosta was entered into Q1, in which he finished third with a time of 1:57.330. He carried the momentum into Q2, where the rookie set a 1:56.597 for the second place on the grid – his best position to date. Just behind him on Sunday will be Masia, who had gone straight into Q2 and ended fifth thanks to a 1:56.985.

Red Bull KTM Ajo send their support and best wishes to the riders involved in the incident that occurred today at the end of Qualifying 2 at Mugello.

Tomorrow at 11 AM local time, Masia and Acosta will contest the 20-lap Italian Grand Prix.

Results (Qualifying session)

1. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 1:56.001
2. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:56.597 +0.596
3. Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda) 1:56.685 +0.684
4. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 1:56.980 +0.979
5. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:56.985 +0.984

5 JAUME MASIA

“I’m happy with how qualifying went. We rode our hot lap alone, which is always very important. There are certain aspects that we need to improve for tomorrow, so we will work hard this afternoon to get ready for the race. I want to send my full support to the riders involved in the incident at the end of Q2.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“Going through Q1 benefited us, since it allowed us to accumulate more laps and kilometres on this track. I knew the circuit from my time in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, but with this bike everything is different. I want to thank the team, my family and my assistant, because they worked very hard over the past few days.”