Pedro Acosta sets the best time of the day, while Albert Arenas finishes in twelfth position.

The Thai Grand Prix started on Friday under high temperatures, but with Pedro Acosta setting the fastest time in both practice sessions. Albert Arenas continued to improve his feeling and, despite not lowering his times, finished in twelfth position.

Friday’s first session once again showed Acosta’s determination. The Moto2 World Championship leader worked on his pace and on feeling good with his KTM. He completed a total of 18 laps, set his best time on Lap 15 with a 1:36.266, and was the man to beat in the morning. Arenas felt very comfortable at the start of the weekend at the Chang International Circuit. He focused on feeling at ease onboard his bike and managed to finish Practice 1 among the Top 10, through a 1:36.703 that put him in tenth position.

The afternoon Practice allowed the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to finetune their setups for Saturday’s qualifying sessions. Acosta has continued to be the clear dominant force in the intermediate class, showing great confidence and improving his times. He fought to maintain first position, something he secured thanks to a 1:35.985, just 0.014s faster than his nearest rival. Arenas has continued with the same strategy as in the morning, trying to improve his times. He completed 18 productive laps of the Thai circuit and, although he came very close to lowering his time, was finally twelfth with a 1:36.735 on his 16th attempt.

Qualifying at the Chang International Circuit takes place on Saturday from 1:45 PM local time.

Results (Combined practice sessions P1-P2)
1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:35.985
2. Marcos Ramirez (Kalex) 1:35.999 +0.014
3. Fermin Aldeguer (Boscoscuro) 1:36.005 +0.020
4. Somkiat Chantra (Kalex) 1:36.194 +0.209
5. Aron Canet (Kalex) 1:36.240 +0.255
12. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:36.703 +0.718

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It’s very good to start with this feeling from the beginning. We have to be happy; we are working hard for the race and we’ve faced the weekend with a clean slate. We are getting back to having the usual feeling. I think tomorrow the times will go down a lot. Our goal is the front or second row, but we will also fight for pole.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

“It has been an intense first day in Thailand. I focused on myself, on finding a good feeling and on taking things lap-by-lap. We have found something that works for us, and we are clear about the path to follow to be able to take a step forward tomorrow. It is important to stay focused on ourselves and continue doing things this way to achieve a good result in qualifying.”