event important thing this morning is the arrival of rain on the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit. This is the first time this year that the drivers will be racing on a wet track and, in these conditions, they should not take the slightest risk, especially since no one really knows if the track will still be wet for the race.
It is therefore a 20-minute session for which we prepared the motorcycles for this less grippy surface, mainly by fitting the grooved tires and softening the suspensions. Pilots generally use thicker sliders to take a little less angle.
The air and the track are at 23°.
The first bikes to set off release good sprays of water and thus demonstrate that there is no chance of the trajectories drying out.
Some drivers only do one lap before changing tires, in order to “break in” a pair of new tires for the race, in case it takes place in the wet.
The rain also generally allows a few courageous drivers to stand out, as is the case this morning with the presence of the Malaysian Adam Norrodin at the top of the timesheet for a good part of the session.
Philipp Oettl took over in the second half of the session before falling on a white line, leaving first place to a more than promising Rookie, the Malaysian Khairul Idham Pawi of the team Honda Team Asia.
The latter, aged 17 and coming from the FIM CEV Junior Moto3 World Championship, relegates lap after lap, with a certain confidence, all the other riders to more than a second; #89, a number to remember for the months to come!
| Pos | number | Pile | Country | Team | Motorcycle | Km / h | Temps | difference 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 89 | Khairul Idham PAWI | MAL | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 215.4 | 1'59.445 | |
| 2 | 23 | Niccolo ANTONELLI | ITA | Ongetta-Rivacold | Honda | 211.2 | 2'00.805 | 1.360 / 1.360 |
| 3 | 8 | Nicholas BULEGA | ITA | Sky Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 210.4 | 2'01.010 | 1.565 / 0.205 |
| 4 | 55 | Andrea LOCATELLI | ITA | Leopard Racing | KTM | 215.3 | 2'01.206 | 1.761 / 0.196 |
| 5 | 88 | Jorge MARTIN | SPA | ASPAR Mahindra Team Moto3 | Mahindra | 207.5 | 2'01.222 | 1.777 / 0.016 |
| 6 | 9 | Jorge NAVARRO | SPA | Galicia Star 0,0 | Honda | 211.6 | 2'01.234 | 1.789 / 0.012 |
| 7 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Drive M7 SIC Racing Team | Honda | 217.6 | 2'01.555 | 2.110 / 0.321 |
| 8 | 7 | Adam NORRODIN | MAL | Drive M7 SIC Racing Team | Honda | 213.7 | 2'01.824 | 2.379 / 0.269 |
| 9 | 98 | Karel HANIKA | CZE | Platinum Bay Real Estate | Mahindra | 207.2 | 2'01.859 | 2.414 / 0.035 |
| 10 | 21 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | ASPAR Mahindra Team Moto3 | Mahindra | 209.8 | 2'02.285 | 2.840 / 0.426 |
| 11 | 17 | John MCPHEE | GBR | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | Peugeot | 210.2 | 2'02.347 | 2.902 / 0.062 |
| 12 | 19 | Gabriel RODRIGO | ARG | RBA Racing Team | KTM | 213.5 | 2'02.751 | 3.306 / 0.404 |
| 13 | 95 | Jules DANILO | FRA | Ongetta-Rivacold | Honda | 213.2 | 2'02.805 | 3.360 / 0.054 |
| 14 | 6 | Maria HERRERA | SPA | MH6 Laglisse | KTM | 214.3 | 2'02.910 | 3.465 / 0.105 |
| 15 | 33 | Enea BASTIANINI | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto3 | Honda | 211.2 | 2'02.939 | 3.494 / 0.029 |
| 16 | 41 | Brad BINDER | RSA | Red Bull KTM Garlic | KTM | 215.5 | 2'02.942 | 3.497 / 0.003 |
| 17 | 65 | Philipp OETTL | GER | Schedl GP Racing | KTM | 210.2 | 2'03.088 | 3.643 / 0.146 |
| 18 | 76 | Hiroki ONO | JPN | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 217.2 | 2'03.442 | 3.997 / 0.354 |
| 19 | 10 | Alexis MASBOU | FRA | Peugeot MC Saxoprint | Peugeot | 206.4 | 2'03.465 | 4.020 / 0.023 |
| 20 | 4 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto3 | Honda | 211.1 | 2'03.640 | 4.195 / 0.175 |
| 21 | 11 | Livio LOI | BEL | RW Racing GP B.V | Honda | 213.6 | 2'03.643 | 4.198 / 0.003 |
| 22 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | ITA | Sky Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 211.5 | 2'03.739 | 4.294 / 0.096 |
| 23 | 64 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NED | Red Bull KTM Garlic | KTM | 210.1 | 2'03.842 | 4.397 / 0.103 |
| 24 | 44 | Aaron CANET | SPA | Galicia Star 0,0 | Honda | 208.8 | 2'04.228 | 4.783 / 0.386 |
| 25 | 43 | Stefano VALTULINI | ITA | 3570 Team Italy | Mahindra | 210.2 | 2'04.237 | 4.792 / 0.009 |
| 26 | 58 | Juanfran GUEVARA | SPA | RBA Racing Team | KTM | 215.9 | 2'04.956 | 5.511 / 0.719 |
| 27 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | JPN | CIP-Unicom Starker | Mahindra | 207.1 | 2'05.021 | 5.576 / 0.065 |
| 28 | 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | FRA | Leopard Racing | KTM | 216.4 | 2'05.226 | 5.781 / 0.205 |
| 29 | 5 | Roman FENATI | ITA | Sky Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 214.2 | 2'06.215 | 6.770 / 0.989 |
| 30 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | RSA | Platinum Bay Real Estate | Mahindra | 211.9 | 2'06.394 | 6.949 / 0.179 |
| 31 | 36 | Joan Mir | SPA | Leopard Racing | KTM | 211.4 | 2'06.913 | 7.468 / 0.519 |
| 32 | 3 | Fabio SPIRANELLI | ITA | CIP-Unicom Starker | Mahindra | 206.0 | 2'07.445 | 8.000 / 0.532 |
| 33 | 77 | Lorenzo PETRARCA | ITA | 3570 Team Italy | Mahindra | 201.1 | 2'09.503 | 10.058 / 2.058 |
