Rivacold Snipers Team’s Andrea Migno bettered his own 2020 time to set a new Moto3™ lap record in FP3 at the Spanish GP. The Italian became the first-ever lightweight class rider to dip below the 1:45 mark to set a time of 1:44.988 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, leaving him over half a second clear of Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) at the top of the timesheets.
The cool morning conditions meant that Gabriel Rodrigo’s (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) Friday time stood for the majority of the session, and indeed it was good enough to land the Argentine P4 on the timesheets, but it was eventually beaten by Oncu with just five minutes remaining in the session. From there we saw a classic Moto3™ scramble, with a flurry of time attacks coming as riders sought to secure their place in Q2.
New all time lap record for @M16NO! ????
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) May 1, 2021
The Italian ends half a second clear with @37_pedroacosta forced to go through Q1 later on! ????#Moto3 | #SpanishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/NuTQi21JaP
As Migno set his record-breaking time, a number of riders had already secured passage to Q2, with the likes of Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Filip Salac (Rivacold Snipers Team) Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) all finishing safely within the top 14, however, a number of other riders are conspicuous in their absence.
Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) suffered an early fall at Turn 2, as did fellow rookie Lorenzo Fellon (SIC58 Squadra Corse), and the Spaniard never found the one lap pace needed to crack the best times. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) and Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) also miss out, as does Sergio Garcia (Solunion GasGas Aspar Team), whose late wipe out of Deniz Oncu cost him his chance of posting a fast lap.
It makes for a stacked Q1 this afternoon, with the lightweight class back on track at 12.35 (GMT +2).
Top 10 combined:
1. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) – 1:44.988
2. Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) + 0.578
3. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.610
4. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.663
5. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.674
6. Filip Salac (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.807
7. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.809
8. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) + 0.919
9. Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) + 0.961
10. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 1.044