Moto3

Salom Knocks Folger Off The Top In Second Practice

2 Mins read

Luis Salom took over as the fastest rider in Moto3 with a late burst in second practice ahead of the Grand Prix of Qatar. The Spaniard was one of three riders to go underneath last year’s pole position on Thursday night with FP1 pacesetter Jonas Folger and Alex Rins joining him at the top of the leaderboard.

After his quick start earlier in the evening, Folger looked like completing a total domination of the opening day after a succession of fastest laps midway through the second session. The German broke into the 2:07s to move ahead of Rins but Salom would have the last say with a 2:07.341 in the last minute, three tenths under Folger’s Aspar Kalex. Rins was relegated to third with Alex Marquez following his teammate in fourth.

Niccolo Antonelli had an adventurous evening which started with a crash at turn ten but the GO&FUN Gresini FTR-Honda was in a fit enough state for the Italian to go fifth fastest in the dying seconds, edging out Efren Vazquez on the leading Mahindra. Brad Binder kept up his impressive start to the weekend with seventh place while Niklas Ajo finished eighth ahead of Maverick Vinales who kept his powder dry on Thursday.

Vinales’ teammate Ana Carrasco had a nightmare session when her Team Calvo KTM took an age to start up but the rookie finally made it out on track to finish 31st. The British riders enjoyed a much smoother time of it with Danny Webb and John McPhee eleventh and eighteenth.

 

 Moto3 Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar: Combined Thursday Practice Times
Pos Rider Bike Team Time
1  Luis Salom KTM Red Bull KTM Ajo 2:07.341
2  Jonas Folger Kalex KTM Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 2:07.633
3  Alex Rins KTM Estrella Galicia 0’0 2:07.968
4  Alex Marquez KTM Estrella Galicia 0’0 2:08.351
5  Niccolo Antonelli FTR Honda GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 2:08.543
6  Efren Vazquez Mahindra Mahindra Racing 2:08.546
7  Brad Binder Suter Honda Ambrogio Racing 2:08.580
8  Niklas Ajo KTM Avant Tecno 2:08.581
9  Maverick Vinales KTM Team Calvo 2:08.602
10  Jakub Kornfeil Kalex KTM Redox RW Racing GP 2:08.611
11  Danny Webb Suter Honda Ambrogio Racing 2:08.766
12  Alan Techer TSR Honda CIP Moto3 2:08.820
13  Miguel Oliveira Mahindra Mahindra Racing 2:08.977
14  Zulfahmi Khairuddin KTM Red Bull KTM Ajo 2:09.073
15  Isaac Vinales FTR Honda Bimbo-Ongetta-Centro Seta 2:09.147
16  Jack Miller FTR Honda Caretta Technology-RTG 2:09.205
17  Romano Fenati FTR Honda San Carlo Team Italia 2:09.482
18  John McPhee FTR Honda Caretta Technology-RTG 2:09.566
19  Alexis Masbou FTR Honda Ongetta-Rivacold 2:09.627
20  Jasper Iwema Kalex KTM RW Racing GP 2:09.824
21  Eric Granado Kalex KTM Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 2:10.024
22  Arthur Sissis KTM Red Bull KTM Ajo 2:10.113
23  Alessandro Tonucci Honda Team La Fonte Tascaracing 2:10.327
24  Juan Francisco Guevara TSR Honda CIP Moto3 2:10.651
25  Philipp Oettl Kalex KTM Paddock TT Motion Events 2:10.657
26  Toni Finsterbusch Kalex KTM Kiefer Racing 2:10.687
27  Francesco Bagnaia FTR Honda San Carlo Team Italia 2:11.886
28  Matteo Ferrari FTR Honda Ongetta-Centro Seta 2:11.951
29  Florian Alt Kalex KTM Kiefer Racing 2:11.973
30  Lorenzo Baldassarri FTR Honda GO&FUN Gresini Moto3 2:12.425
31  Ana Carrasco KTM Team Calvo 2:12.612
32  Hyuga Watanabe Honda Team La Fonte Tascaracing 2:13.447

 

Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
Moto2Moto3MotoEMotoGP

MotoGP: Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta updates on 2020

3 Mins read
Dorna CEO updates on 2020: we’re trying to maintain the races, which is the most important thing.
Moto2Moto3MotoEMotoGP

MotoGP: German, Dutch and Finnish Grand Prix cancelled

1 Mins read
The German, Dutch and Finnish Grand Prix are cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Moto3

Arenas snatches victory in a spectacular Moto3 season opener

1 Mins read
Albert Arenas claimed an incredible victory to kick off the 2020 Moto3 Championship