There it's done ! The Red Bull KTM Tech3 team has just started its first Grand Prix in the hotly contested and brand new category of Moto3.
To do this, the teamHervé Poncharal chose to bet on a sure bet, the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki who already has three full seasons in Grands Prix at 19, and the Turk Deniz Oncu, three years younger than his teammate and considered a rookie despite his five Grand Prix appearances, mainly to replace his injured twin brother Can.
However, Ayumu Sasaki made the jump from Honda to KTM this year, while Deniz Öncü is already accustomed to the RC 250 R, after having traveled the circuits of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and the FIM CEV Moto3 championship for two years on his handlebars.
Anyway, Deniz Oncu starts the year 2020 impressively with a top 10 at the end of the first day of testing for the Qatar Grand Prix while Ayumu Sasaki progresses and finishes this one 0,915 seconds behind his teammate.
Deniz Oncu will he manage to maintain his direct pre-qualification for Q2 during FP3?
Response this morning at 11:35 a.m.!
Deniz Oncu : “Today was a great day. The first free practice session went well as we improved with each lap, but during the second session I had a lot of difficulty seeing the track, because the sun had just set and it was reflected a lot. It was my first time riding in these conditions, so it was difficult to get the bike into the corners, but towards the end it was darker and it was easier for me to see, so I am better adapted to the conditions. We put a new tire on and I managed to get a great lap time. I think we are ready for qualifying tomorrow. »
Ayumu Sasaki : “To be honest, it was a difficult first day. We tried several things to improve after the test, because we needed to do something different, starting from scratch. I needed to get used to the bike again, trying to improve with each ride and it worked. Unfortunately, we're still a little way off the lead, so we know what the goal is. We managed to improve by over a second between FP1 and FP2, so if we can do the same tomorrow I think we can make up the rest. Right now I'm trying to understand and work on myself and the bike. I hope we can come back stronger tomorrow and arrive ahead on Sunday. »
Moto3 Losail Qatar FP2: times
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Ayumu Sasaki, Qatar Moto3, March 6, 2020
