The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo finish first day in seventh and eighth position, respectively.

The Moto3 World Championship returned to action with the first practice sessions at Silverstone. Deniz Öncü and Jose Antonio Rueda completed the day with a good feeling despite changeable conditions. After improving the times of the morning, Öncü finished seventh and Rueda eighth on the combined timesheets.

Silverstone circuit welcomed the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders with wind and low temperatures to navigate on Friday. Öncü and Rueda faced the first Practice of the day focused on finding a good setup for their bikes. The Turkish rider started out in the Top 10 but, after setting his best time of the session on his last lap, he was finally 14th with a time of 2:14.003. Rueda had his first contact with the British track and made progress despite the conditions and numerous crashes. The Spanish rider clocked a 2:14.589 on his fourth lap of 11, earning 18th place.

Practice 2 took place in similar conditions, although both riders improved their times from the first laps onwards. Öncü started the session occupying the top positions, reaching as high as second place. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider cut his time by more than a second, allowing him to stay in the Q2 spots through to the end. After an intense session, Öncü finished seventh with a time of 2:12.235 after a speedy last lap. Rueda also improved and felt more and more comfortable with the track, although he had to battle to stay in the Q2 places. After a pit stop, the rookie took a big step forward that allowed him to enter the Top 10. With his 2:12.281, he was eighth overall.

The Moto3 qualifying sessions will begin this Saturday at 12:50 PM, at the Silverstone circuit.

Results (Combined practice times P1 – P2)
1. Jaume Masia (Honda) 2:11.403
2. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) 2:11.516 +0.113
3. Diogo Moreira (KTM) 2:11.853 +0.450
4. Stefano Nepa (KTM) 2:11.028 +0.625
5. Romano Fenati (Honda) 2:11.041 +0.638
7. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:12.235 +0.832
8. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:12.281 +0.878

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

After the summer break I’m really happy to be back, because I was missing this atmosphere. That’s the first day at Silverstone over and we have been working on our setup. We have a fast pace and it’s good to see that we are strong again. Let’s see what the weather is like tomorrow, but I want to fight for pole position and the front row in qualifying.

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

In Practice 1 the track was cold and it was our first contact with a new circuit for me. We focused on understanding the circuit and how the bike runs here. In Practice 2 we made some changes and they worked out quite well. We managed to set a good time and I ended the day with a very good feeling. I really liked the track and I feel comfortable here, so tomorrow we’ll give everything in qualifying -although we’ll keep an eye on the weather forecast.