Red Bull KTM Ajo rider finishes third on Friday, while Pedro Acosta is 17th overall

Red Bull KTM Ajo contested the first Free Practice sessions at the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday. Augusto Fernandez was one of the fastest riders, completing the day third overall. Pedro Acosta, who returns at Spielberg after injury, progressed in each session, improving his times until finishing in 17th place. 

Moto2 FP1 started with delicate track conditions. Fernandez occupied the top positions after the opening laps, quickly rising to the top spot. Acosta returned to action after his injury with the aim of regaining a good feeling on his bike. Fernandez led almost all of the session, improving his times by more than half a second. With an 1:35.161, set on his penultimate lap, Augusto Fernandez was second fastest. After progressing lap by lap, Acosta finished in fourteenth position setting 1:35.709 as his best time after putting in 18 laps.

In the afternoon session, Fernandez remained in third position for much of the run. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider would go on to up his pace and be one of the fastest riders in FP2. Acosta continued with his progression in FP2 in which the track conditions were more favourable for him. Fernandez clocked the third fastest time of the day on his 15th lap of 18, an 1:34.664. Acosta was eventually 17th, thanks to an 1:35.327 set on the 15th lap of 17. With this result, on Saturday he will work to move directly into Q2.

Moto2 qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix will take place on Saturday: Q1 will be at 3:10 PM and Q2 at 3:35 PM local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1 – FP2)
1. Somkiat Chantra (Kalex) 1:34.353
2. Ai Ogura (Kalex) 1:34.408 +0.055
3. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:34.664 +0.311
4. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 1:34.707 +0.354
5. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) 1:34.898 +0.545
17. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.327 +0.974

#37 AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ

“I am happy to start another weekend in this way. I didn’t feel bad on the track, although we are lacking something. In FP2 we struggled a little more to get a higher pace, but we know which points we have to improve on. I think we lack both a fast one-off time and pace, but tomorrow we will take another step forward and fight for a good result.”

#51 PEDRO ACOSTA

“I feel good on the bike despite all these weeks away. We have a clear objective, which is to progressively recover our pace. I’m aware that I lack riding time, so it is just a matter of building that up. Tomorrow we will continue working in the same way, to keep improving.”