Acosta the sets pace, Ogura closes the gap to Fernandez

Another session, another Red Bull KTM Ajo one-two, but that does not tell the whole story in Moto2™ at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. As was the case in FP2 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Pedro Acosta edged his World Championship-leading teammate Augusto Fernandez to P1 in FP3, by an even slimmer margin of 0.066 seconds. However, the gap between Fernandez and his title rival, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura, has also come down, with those two now separated by five positions and 0.453 seconds on the timesheet. The key take-out, of course, is that Ogura is also into Q2 and now he can figure out how he will try and take pole position this Saturday afternoon.

Acosta by a fine margin

Fernandez had beaten Acosta to FP1 bragging rights before his rookie teammate turned the tables in FP2, and the theme continued as they fought for top spot in FP3, although this time Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) got himself involved in the battle as well. In fact, Lopez moved into P1 with a 1:34.786 in the final few minutes before Fernandez clocked a 1:34.658 and then Acosta bettered both of them with a 1:34.592 in the last minute before the chequered flag.

Ogura getting quicker

Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) was a late mover to third with a 1:34.664 and Lopez would be classified fourth, ahead of Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) on a 1:34.953 and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) in sixth on a 1:35.016. Ogura was next having gone as fast as a 1:35.111, from Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team), Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing). Notables heading into Q1 include Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – who had an early crash at Turn 2 before claiming 17th – and Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), who was classified 18th.

Will it be more KTM Ajo dominance in qualifying, or is Ogura going to improve even further? Tune in for Q1 later on Saturday at 15:10 (GMT +1)!

Moto2™ Combined Top 10

1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:34.592
2. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.066
3. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 0.072
4. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.194
5. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.361
6. Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools Speed Up) + 0.424
7. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.519
8. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Italtrans Racing Team) + 0.580
9. Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.615
10. Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) + 0.625

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