Moto3 Catalonia Barcelona FP1: Sergio García plays the commander

It's a Moto3 still in shock from the disappearance of one of their own in the person of Jason Dupasquier who opens his seventh round of the season in Catalonia. The drama played out barely a week ago, and there is no doubt that it will remain in a corner of the minds of these young drivers. Among them, Pedro Acosta, barely out of adolescence and still leading the debates with more than 50 points ahead of his runner-up in the general classification...

The latter evolves as the races go by, so much so that if the official KTM seems to have a little more difficulty for two races, this costs him nothing in his march towards the title. Championship management which, for the moment, is perfection. Since Mugello, his new runner-up is none other than his teammate Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Beaten by 36 thousandths in Italy, the Valencian could almost have scored his second success of the year. He will want revenge this Sunday, especially since he will also be playing at home. And we can also expect a response from Sergio García, winner at Le Mans.

Interspersed between the two men, we find a certain Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3), who has never done worse than fifth for four rounds. In other words, the Japanese will be one to watch closely. Let's not forget either Roman Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), currently fifth in the Championship, which remains a sure bet and above all… Darryn binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing), installed in its wake. Indeed, if the South African did not have the start to the year he hoped for, the fact remains that he is the latest winner on this Montmeló track... And it is his only success to date.

What will this Catalan Grand Prix have in store for us? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

Catalonia – Barcelona Moto3™	2020	2021 (New turn #10)
FP1	1'48.853 Raúl Fernández	1'48.467 Sergio Garcia
FP2	1′.49.134 Jaume Masia
FP3	1'48.635 Tony Arbolino
Q1	1'48.894 Alonso Lopez
Q2	1'47.762 Tony Arbolino
Warm Up	1'49.715 Niccolò Antonelli
Course	Binder, Arbolino, Foggia
All time lap record	1'47.762 Tony Arbolino 2020

 

22° in the air and 26° on the track are the conditions offered to the drivers for the 40 minutes of exercise. For the moment, the sun is dominant above the Montmeló route.

the first reference goes to Sergio García, the winner of a wet French Grand Prix, in 1'50.951. Migno, Masia, Acosta et Öncü, the one who asks his colleagues on his social network to do the times alone, constitutes the first top 5 of the day. His teammate at Tech3 Sasaki leads the rest of the pack who also discovers a new turn...

 

 

We take note that Daniel Holgado already eighth in a hierarchy which, mid-session, remains frozen.

 

 

Tuff puts the gas at 1'49.698. Artigas also accelerates and sticks to the Japanese by two tenths. The last ten minutes have begun. But it is the last five which panic the ranking. Rodrigo signs a 1'49.112 which wakes everyone up. Antonelli follows and Tuff is now almost six tenths away.

Migno shows that we can do better with 1'48.793. Adrian Fernandez fall at turn 14. Darryn binder falls at turn 5.

 

 

Under the checkered flag, it's Sergio García who takes the lead with his 1'48.426. Guevara, Salač, McPhee et Rodrigo follow. fenati leads the rest of the peloton.  Peter Acosta is an anonymous 20th. Lorenzo Fellon is 22th.

 

FP1 ranking of the Moto3 Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com