Moto3 Argentina FP1: Dennis Foggia already very fast on a dusty track

At the Indonesian Grand Prix, Dennis Foggia won for the seventh time, tying Brad Binder for eighth on the list of riders with the most Moto3 wins. It was also Foggia's 16th Moto3 podium and he is now tied with Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Joan Mir in 10th position on the list of riders with the most podiums in the category, behind Aron Canet (17). The 2021 world vice-champion in the category therefore relaunched in his championship in Mandalika after a failed start in Qatar…

Foggia's victory is Italy's 46th victory in Moto3, more than half that of Spain which leads with 84 victories in the category. This is the 81st victory of Honda since the introduction of Moto3 in 2012. The Japanese manufacturer has extended its lead as the most successful manufacturer in the category ahead of KTM (78 wins). It was also the 10th consecutive Moto3 race with at least one Honda on the podium.

Izan Guevara finished second for his second Moto3 podium, adding to his win at the Grand Prix of the Americas last year. In Mandalika, Carlos Tatay, starting from pole for the first time, took third place for his first podium in Moto3. His second place is also the first podium for CFMoto in Moto3. Mario Aji, who started from the front row for the first time in Moto3, finished 14th, which is the best result ever for an Indonesian Grand Prix rider.

The six Moto3 races held at Termas were won by six riders: Roman Fenati (2014) Danny Kent (2015) KhairulIdham Pawi (2016), the first Malaysian Grand Prix winner, Joan Mir (2017) Marco Bezzecchi (2018) James Masia. The latter is the only rider on the Moto3 grid to have won in the category at Termas de Rio Hondo and the only one to have done so after qualifying after taking what was his first pole in the category.

Since the introduction of Termas in 2014, Honda (2015, 2016, 2017) and KTM (2014, 2018, 2019) have both achieved three Moto3 victories. The presentations made, what will these FP1s have in store for us which reconnect with a route lost sight of since 2019? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Argentine GP Moto3™	2019	2022
FP1	1'51.147 Jaume Masia	1'49.268 Dennis Foggia
FP2	1'49.892 John McPhee
FP3	1'48.959 John McPhee
Q1	1'49.496 Andrea Migno
Q2	1'48.775 Jaume Masia
warm up	1'49.175 John McPhee
Course	Masiá, D. Binder; Arbolino
All time lap record	1'48.461 Miguel Oliveira 2015

At the start of the morning, it was 10°C in the air.

The Moto3s are the first to set off on the Argentinian track. With their big sisters in the Moto2 category, they are responsible for cleaning the track for the MotoGP category, which will take the stage at 17:35 p.m. The pilots quickly take action, and for good reason, they are deprived of FP3, so you will have to be efficient to get into action, take your bearings and adjust the machines. The times of FP1 & FP2 are counted to advance directly to Q2. However, these first 2 practice sessions have been extended by 10 minutes, so the drivers will benefit from 50 minutes on track instead of the usual 40 minutes.

At the end of the first timed lap, the provisional Top3 is made up of Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5), in 1'52.509, followed by Diogo Moreira (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #10) and Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53). The track is very dusty, and for good reason, it has not been used intensively since 2019. Even kneeling on the ground raises dust. Once it is a little cleaner, the times should improve.

Matthew Bertelli (KTM, QJMotor Avintia Racing Team, #18) is the first rider to fall this weekend, at turn 1, after barely 10 minutes on the track.

After 10 minutes on the track, Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) is still the fastest on track, in 1'51.148, followed by the rookie Diogo Moreira (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #10) and Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #71). The pilots are already on the attack, Deniz Oncu (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) has fun with long slides from the rear when braking. During this time, Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) gives us a lap of the Termas de Rio Honda track with an on-board camera.

With 30 minutes left before the end of this first weekend session, many drivers have returned to the pits. Jaume Masià (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5) remains the provisional leader and improved to 1'50.594, ahead Deniz Öncü (KTM, Red Bull KTM Tech3, #53) and Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, #71), already relegated to 0.530s from the leader.

Even if it is relatively calm, the drivers and their teams work hard during this extended 10-minute session. The times continue to go down, since despite the dirty track and only 30 minutes of track time, the best drivers are only 1.6 seconds from the 2019 pole position.

Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7), currently in the lead in 1'50.396, draws inspiration from the MotoGP teams to communicate with its mechanics, but does so with the means at hand:

10 minutes from the end of the session, almost all the drivers are in the pits, preparing for a run on soft tires. Alone Tatsuki suzuki (Honda, Leopard Racing, #24), 4th, and Matthew Bertelli (KTM, QJMotor Avintia Racing Team, #18), 24th, are on the track. Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) is currently the leader, in 1'50.396, ahead of Diogo Moreira (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #10) and Jaume Masia (KTM, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #5). The first 13 drivers are within 1 second.

The action resumes 8 minutes before the checkered flag for the majority of drivers, except the top 10, who wait a few more minutes in the pits. Almost all the drivers improve their times, the hunt for Q2 is on. Kaito Toba (KTM, CIP-Green Power, #27) is the first rider to go under 1'50, in 1'49.814, and is quickly beaten by Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28) in 1'49.373.

At the end of this first practice session of the day, the drivers already have a very good pace. Dennis Foggia (Honda, Leopard Racing, #7) leads this FP1 in 1'49.268, followed by Izan Guevara (GasGas, GasGas Aspar Team, #28) and Diogo Moreira (KTM, MT Helmets – MSI, #10).

Results of FP1 of the Argentine Moto3 Grand Prix at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit:

Credit Ranking: MotoGP.com