Day 1 at COTA was topped by Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to kick off his weekend at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas with a 2:16.306. Joining the Japanese rider in the top 3 on combined times was the Spaniard Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) with Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) rounding out the top 3.
The dark clouds loomed over Austin Texas but the Moto3™ riders were lucky to have a full day of dry running ahead of the weekend's competitive action. With uncertain weather conditions across the weekend, it was important for the big hitters to ensure a Q2 spot in the case of rain in Saturday's FP3. The riders took to the track for Practice 2 and it took a while before there were any improvements on their morning efforts.
Fifteen minutes to go and the Rookie Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) suffered a big high side as he ventured onto the curbs and was thrown over the handlebars. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the times began to tumble and the 2022 JuniorGP champion was knocked down to P12 from P9, but still remains in Q2 contention.
The final five minutes was when Sasaki put the hammer down. Ortola was the first to improve but the Japanese rider had something special in his back pocket and stamped his authority on the rest of the field moving the goalposts by almost half a second. Masia put in a brave effort to topple Sasaki, setting the fastest first sector but falling short by 0.176s.
Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) topped Practice 1 and will be one watch heading into the race as he finishes the day in P4. Equally, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) have had positive starts to their weekend finishing the day in 5th and 7th respectively.
Moto3™ action continues on Saturday, make sure not to miss any of the action with Practice 3 at 08:40 and qualifying at 12:50 local time (GMT -5).
Top 10 combined:
1. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) – 2:16.908
2. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) + 0.176
3. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) + 0.456
4. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) + 0.602
5. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.766
6. Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.782
7. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 1.145
8. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) + 1.174
9. David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) + 1.201
10. Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 1.263