SKY Racing Team VR46’s Celestino Vietti put down the marker in the Moto3™ class at the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich by ending FP2 fastest with his final lap of the 40-minute session.
The Italian was only 0.031 ahead of Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee, with the Scot only a further 0.022 clear of SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Tatsuki Suzuki. Overall, 20 riders were covered by a second in a frantic session that saw riders push hard in the closing stages with some adverse forecasts ahead for Saturday’s FP3 session.
The temperatures are rising and so are the tempers! ????@AyumuSasaki1 doesn't appear to be too happy with @Alonsolopez72! ????#AustrianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/eF4qKYCUm1
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 9, 2019
The top three riders were separated by only half a tenth but Vietti, McPhee and Suzuki were three tenths clear of Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) in fourth. Sasaki set his lap late in the day after calming down following a spat with Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) earlier in the session.
This morning’s pacesetter, Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrüstelGP), closed the day fifth quickest after failing to improve on his 1:36.967 from FP1. VNE Snipers’ Tony Arbolino ended sixth at the end of the first day, just ahead of Bester Capital Dubai’s Jaume Masia in seventh.
The fine margins of motorcycle racing! ????@_Nicco23 dancing on the very edge of track limits! ????#AustrianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/TNcWHfCgEp
— MotoGP™ ???????? (@MotoGP) August 9, 2019
Niccolo Antonelli made sure both SIC58 Squadra Corse bikes were inside the top eight ahead of Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia). Dennis Foggia (SKY Racing Team VR46) did jump into the top ten with his final lap of the session but the Italian had it cancelled due to exceeding track limits. Therefore, Filip Salac (Redox PrüstelGP) rounded out the top ten
Championship rivals Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) and Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) both failed to improve on their laps from FP1, yet both provisionally hold Q2 places ahead of tomorrow's possible inclement weather. Dalla Porta is eleventh, one place ahead of teammate Marcos Ramirez. Canet, meanwhile, could benefit massively from Foggia's lap cancellation as the Spaniard was promoted into the final Q2 place in 14th.
Those currently sat 15th and below will be praying the rain stays away ahead of FP3 at the Red Bull Ring, which kicks off at 09:00 (GMT+2) on Saturday, whilst those sitting pretty inside the top 14 might possibly be spotted doing a rain dance in the streets of Spielberg this evening.
Top 10 combined:
1. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) – 1:36.585
2. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.031
3. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.053
4. Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.352
5. Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrüstelGP) + 0.382
6. Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) + 0.426
7. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) + 0.478
8. Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.503
9. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) + 0.519
10. Filip Salac (Redox PrüstelGP) + 0.578
Click here for the full results!