Moto3™ kicked off a fascinating weekend at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, with David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) grabbing Friday honours after a brilliant start to the weekend. The #80 clocked a 1:40.703 on Friday afternoon on what was a hectic day for the Colombian, who ended the day with a 0.385s advantage over Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) in second. The Australian had a great opening day of action in Thailand, improving in the closing stages of the session after setting 15 laps. Kelso placed ahead of Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), with the #31 ending Friday as the top Honda rider with a strong starting point for this weekend.
Alonso had a busy morning, finding the limit with a crash at Turn 3 before remounting and later posting a 1:40.544 to end Free Practice at the top of the standings and with a new lap record. Temperatures continued to rise, and once Practice 1 got underway, Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) was the rider at the top of the standings as Alonso suffered a second crash of the day before remounting and improving on his Practice 1 time to end Friday at the top of the standings.
Meanwhile, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) worked hard throughout the day, claiming fourth spot and ending Friday in front of Veijer. After leading early on, the Dutchman dropped back to fifth, 0.587s adrift from Alonso’s reference time. Veijer rounded out the top five, while Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) continued to impress, stealing sixth place on a great day for the Italian. Lunetta improved on his final fast lap to place ahead of MT Helmets – MSI’s Ivan Ortola, who seeks redemption after a tough Australian GP. Ortola was ahead of David Almansa (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team), who had a busy day in eighth.
Further back, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) rounded out the top 10 places, with the #36 lapping inside the low 1:41 bracket. Meanwhile, David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) were 11th and 12th, as Scott Ogden (FleetSafe Honda – MLav Racing) and MT Helmets – MSI’s Ryusei Yamanaka took the vital final spots inside the top 14.
M3 Friday Practice Classification
