Maximo Quiles of the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team wasted absolutely no time making his presence felt in Hungary. Hitting the front of Practice in Moto3 at Balaton Park, he simply never looked back and bossed the opening day of action completely. Fast in the morning and fastest in the afternoon, his stunning 1’46.269 lap secured him top spot by more than three tenths of a second. This is what you call a proper response: he returned here with a vengeance following his first finish outside the top ten at Mugello.
Setting that benchmark time earlier in the session, the #28 machine remained completely unbeaten for the rest of the running. Right behind him was Veda Pratama of the Honda Team Asia, who made a late charge to take top Honda honours. Then there was David Almansa for the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP squad. Having been fastest in FP1 and third in the afternoon, he was right back on track after dealing with illness at Mugello to complete the top three. He finished just 0.032 seconds behind the Indonesian rider in second.
Down the order, things were just as fiercely contested. Almansa’s teammate David Muñoz slotted into fourth, while Joel Kelso put in a strong and solid ride for fifth representing GRYD – MLav Racing. Casey O’Gorman rounded out the top six with an impressive showing for SIC58 Squadra Corse. Further down, Guido Pini of Leopard Racing managed to break directly into Q2 for the first time since the championship touched down in Europe.
It was a tougher day of graft for the Red Bull KTM Ajo camp. Alvaro Carpe finished 13th, though thankfully that position was still good enough to punch his ticket straight into Q2. His teammate and Moto3’s most-recent winner, Brian Uriarte, could only manage 18th place, meaning he is forced to battle through Q1.
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