Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) was the only rider in the 1:47s on Day 1 at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, as the Argentine pips Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) by 0.078s on Friday afternoon. Rodrigo’s 1:47.950 was 0.258s ahead of third place Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team).
???? @gabrirodrigo2 gets the better of the late time attacks!
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 4, 2021
The @GresiniRacing rider is fastest on Friday, and has some fans to wave to! ????#Moto3 | #CatalanGP ???? pic.twitter.com/SifV5BlElH
The top 10 on Day 1
The last five minutes of Moto3™ FP2 saw the riders head out and push for personal best times of the day, with a top 14, provisional Q2 result at the forefront of their minds. For much of the session there was little movement on the timesheets, but plenty of quicker laps were slotted home as Rodrigo became the first rider to dip into the 1:47s. In the end, Rodrigo’s time in the closing stages wasn’t beaten, as he heads Binder – who wasn’t fazed by a crash in FP1 – and Fenati into qualifying day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Izan Guevara (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team) was second in FP1 but finished P4 on the combined times despite improving his lap time in FP2, the reigning Junior Moto3™ World Champion is 0.034s ahead of fifth fastest Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) – another strong day for the Japanese rider.
Last year's winner shows the way through the new Turn 10-11 sequence! ????#Moto3 | #CatalanGP ???? pic.twitter.com/UBkidTz6nH
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 4, 2021
Sixth place Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) is 0.499s shy of his teammate’s benchmark, FP1 pacesetter Sergio Garcia (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team) was the only rider in the top 10 who didn’t go faster in FP2. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team), Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) round out a top 10 split by 0.681s on Day 1 in Barcelona.
Big names outside top 14
There’s going to be a few riders in particular who will be hoping to find some speed in FP3. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Mugello winner Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) and Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) are lingering outside the automatic Q2 places at the minute, all three – along with a host of others – will be expecting to be inside the all-important top 14.
Tune into Moto3™ FP3 on Saturday morning to find out who will be the automatic Q2 qualifiers.
Top 10 combined:
1. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) – 1:47.950
2. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 0.078
3. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.258
4. Izan Guevara (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.458
5. Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.492
6. Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) + 0.499
7. Sergio Garcia (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.517
8. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.576
9. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.580
10. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) + 0.681