Day 1 at COTA goes to Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) as the Japanese rider kicked off his weekend at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas with a 2:16.306. Completing the top three on combined times were fellow veteran Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) and sophomore Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team).
The dark clouds loomed over Austin Texas but the Moto3™ riders were lucky to have a full day of dry running. The final five minutes of P2 saw Sasaki put the hammer down. Ortola was the first to improve but the Japanese rider had something special in his back pocket and stamped his authority on the rest of the field, moving the goalposts by almost half a second. Masia then put in an impressive effort to try and topple Sasaki, setting the fastest first sector but ultimately falling short by 0.176s.
Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) topped Practice 1 and will be one watch heading into the race as he finishes the day in P4. Equally, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) have had positive starts to their weekend finishing the day in 5th and 7th respectively. Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse) slots into sixth.
Moto3™ action continues on Saturday, with more practice in the morning before qualifying at 12:50 local time (GMT -5)!
Moto3 Top 4 – Combined Practice – Americas GP
1. Ayumu SASAKI – JPN – Liqui Moly Husqvarna – 2’16.306
2. Jaume MASIA – SPA – Leopard Racing – +0.176
3. Ivan ORTOLÁ – SPA – Angeluss MTA Team – +0.456
4. Diogo MOREIRA – BRA – MT Helmets – MSI – +0.602
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