Under sunny skies at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, David Almansa (Leopard Racing) was lightning quick on Friday to secure top spot and a pathway to Q2. He set fastest lap after fastest lap to shave almost a second off the old lap record. The Spaniard sported a margin of over three tenths of a second and goes into Saturday as the rider to beat.
As he so often does on a Friday afternoon, the #22 set the pace but kept on getting quicker and quicker with each lap, eventually ending 0.310s clear of teammate Adrian Fernandez. A Leopard Racing 1-2 on the opening day as they headed off Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who was back in contention in third. Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) finished in fourth and was consistent throughout the session whilst Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) continued to show his Friday form improvements with P5.
Other highlights throughout the order included Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team) in seventh, through to Q2 for the first time and just ahead of Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team). Adrian Cruces (CIP Green Power) finished P11 ahead of Casey O’Gorman (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Marco Morelli (GRYD – MLav Racing), all making it through.
Moto3 Practice results from Valencia!