Cortese sets the pace ahead of qualifying in Indianapolis

Sunny and dry track conditions greeted the Moto3™ riders for the final free practice before qualifying this afternoon, and it was Cortese who was once again on top as the German made his intentions clear for this weekend. A time of 1.48’514 saw him finish the session over three-tenths ahead of teammate Kent, who has also been on tremendous form since returning from the summer break. Cortese’s main championship rival, Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales, finished the day third, and was once again unable to match the KTM rider’s time.

Fourth spot went to Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins, who has been steadily improving in every practice. He managed to oust Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Héctor Faubel and Jonas Folger into fifth and six place respectively, with the new duo having shown a marked improvement in the team’s fortunes this weekend so far. Rins’ teammate Miguel Oliveira ended the morning in seventh, beating Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati. Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Jakub Kornfeil made his first appearance this weekend in the top ten in ninth, just ahead of Andalucia JHK Laglisse’s stand-in rider Alberto Moncayo in tenth.

MZ Racing’s Toni Finsterbusch was an early crasher, with the resulting debris on the track causing a temporary red flag while the circuit was cleaned. Racing Team Germany’s Louis Rossi continued to struggle on the track as he came off for the third time this weekend, shortly followed by TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo. None of the riders were injured in the incidents.