In the very first session since returning from the summer break, Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer Bank GasGas Aspar) topped Moto3™ FP1 thanks to a 1:37.143. At the Michelin® Grand Prix of Styria, the Spaniard was near the top of the timesheets for the majority of the session, but he had to find one last push to knock John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) off top spot. The Scot thought he had secured P2, but a track limits infringement meant that lap time was cancelled as he slipped to P3 and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) jumped up to second.
???? @garciadols11 tops FP1 in Spielberg!
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) August 6, 2021
Perfect start to the weekend for the title challenger! ????#Moto3 | #StyrianGP ???? pic.twitter.com/cuM30XQE3E
Rounding out the top 5 is Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Ayumu Sasaki, who managed to stay upright after twitching through turn 6 late on, and Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team). It was a relatively incident-free Free Practice, with Nicolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46) the only faller of the session, which came as a shame for the Italian who sat second on the timesheets and was trading personal best laps with Garcia.
The lightweight class will be back on track for FP2 at 1.15 pm (CET).
1. Sergio Garcia (Santander Consumer Bank GASGAS Aspar) – 1:37.143
2. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.050
3. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.052
4. Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.071
5. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.155
6. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.176
7. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46) + 0.204
8. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.234
9. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.387
10. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.389