Here is the thing about Friday sessions in Moto3: they always manage to hand us a wild mix of dominance and drama. An opening day of two halves for the Moto3 field brought a familiar result at the chequered flag, with David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) once again setting the Friday pace to lead the way in Practice. After a damp start to the day in FP1 that left him 16th, the track soon dried out for Practice where Almansa shone. He was the only rider to break into the 1’40s, putting down a 1’40.767 that was strong enough to edge out Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing).
Joel Kelso had actually been fastest in the morning and bagged himself a Q2 spot for his efforts. Just behind the top two, Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) left it late to pop up into P3. He sat out the trickier morning session, but that didn't hinder the #28 at all. Quiles’ teammate Marco Morelli was also strong throughout the course of Practice and took fourth at the chequered flag.
Further down the order, rookie Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) put in a solid shift ahead of his teammate Valentin Perrone. Matteo Bertelle (LEVLUP-MTA) and his teammate Joel Esteban landed P7 and P9 respectively, with Eddie O’Shea (GRYD Racing) splitting them in eighth.
Unfortunately, not everyone had a clean run to the end. There was a big crash in the closing stages of the session for Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who highsided on the exit of Turn 13 on a flying lap. Thankfully, he was OK, but it was game over for the session.
That crash wasn't even the worst of it for the garage, as his teammate made it a session to forget for the team. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had a far from easy day and could only take P18. Stranded outside the top 14 as the session neared its end, the #83 thus finds himself facing a Q1 hurdle for the first time since Barcelona. Other riders joining him in the fight through Q1 include Adrian Cruces (CIP GreenPower), Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), and Guido Pini (Leopard Racing).
