The German Oettl was the only one to go under 2'07 in this first session, with a very respectable time of 2'06.981 on a track where the grip will only improve. Joan Mir ranked second ahead of Gabriel Rodrigo who unfortunately fell quite sharply on the last lap, fracturing his collarbone.
|
Losail – Qatar – Moto3 |
2016 |
2017 |
| FP1 | 2'06.456 Livio Loi | |
| FP2 | 2'05.832 Livio Loi | |
| FP3 | 2'05.859 Fabio Quartararo | |
| QP | 2'06.131 Romano Fenati | |
| Warm Up | 2'06.948 Niccolo Antonelli
|
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| Course | Antonelli Binder Bagnaia | |
| All time lap record | 2'05.832 Law 2016 |
The first free practice session of the year began with 22° for the air temperature, 24° for that of the track and a strong wind. Roman Fenati, now on Honda and teammate of Jules Danilo, established the first reference time in 2'08.817. Nicholas Bulega improved to 2'08.470. Will Bendsneyder passed in 2'08.359. Andrea Migno was the first of the season to fall, without seriousness in turn 2. Bendsneyder crossed the 2'08 mark, in 2'07.872.
George Martin, author of good tests during the winter, moved into second position, 0.3 behind Bendsneyder. Enea Bastianini, who on the other hand had had more difficulty during winter testing, was only in twenty-third place, 1.9 behind the Dutchman. He obviously had some difficulty adapting to the Honda Estrella Galicia. He was right behind Maria Herrera. Tatsuki Suzuki on the other hand stood out with the fourth position.
A quarter of an hour from the end of this 40-minute session, Bo Bendsneyder improved the best time to 2'07.497. At that time he had a significant lead of 0.7 over Jorge Martin. Jules Danilo occupied twenty-sixth position at 2.5. Joan Mir moved to second place at 0.003 and Niccolo Antonelli to the third at 0.6. Everything was going well for the two official KTM Ajos with the first and third times.
In the last minutes, Joan mir skillfully used the aspiration on the long straight (especially for Moto3!) and set the fastest time in 2'07.239. Marcos Ramirez climbed to a good third position, but 0.9 behind the leader. Romano Fenati preceded him shortly after, imitated by Nicolo Bulega. Andrea Migno came out of the pits with his KTM repaired after his crash, and was quickly in ninth position. gabriel rodrigo went third.
In the last two rounds, Philipp Oettl took the lead in 2'06.981, time achieved alone without aspiration. Under the checkered flag, Juanfran Guevara moved up to third position. Finally, Philipp Oettl finished the session in the lead, the only one to have gone under 2'07. Joan Mir followed him, while Gabriel Rodrigo third fell on the last lap with Marcos Ramirez. The Argentinian walked to the medical PC where a broken collarbone was diagnosed. Tough start to the season! Jules Danilo finished this first session in nineteenth position, at 1.4.
Results of the first free practice session:
1- Philipp Öttl – Südmetall Schedl GP Racing – KTM RC 250 GP – 2’06.981
2- Joan Mir – Leopard Racing – Honda NSF250RW – +0.258
3- Gabriel Rodrigo – RBA BOÉ Racing Team – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.399
4- Juanfran Guevara – RBA BOÉ Racing Team – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.407
5- Romano Fenati – Marinelli Rivacold Snipers – Honda NSF250RW – + 0.433
6- Marcos Ramirez – Platinum Bay Real Estate – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.445
7- Bo Bendsneyder – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.451
8- Ayumu Sasaki – SIC Racing Team – Honda NSF250RW – + 0.829
9- Niccolò Antonelli – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.835
10- Adam Norrodin – SIC Racing Team – Honda NSF250RW – + 0.875
11- Nicolò Bulega – Sky Racing Team VR46 – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.917
12- Aron Canet – Estrella Galicia 0,0 – Honda NSF250RW – + 0.929
13- Livio Loi – Leopard Racing – Honda NSF250RW – + 1.145
14- Fabio Di Giannantonio – Del Conca Gresini Moto3 – Honda NSF250RW – + 1.169
15- Marco Bezzecchi – CIP – Mahindra MGP3O – + 1.221
16- Jorge Martin – Del Conca Gresini Moto3 – Honda NSF250RW – +1.242
17- Jakub Kornfeil – Peugeot MC SaxoPrint – Peugeot GP3-17 – + 1.298
18- Andrea Migno – Sky Racing Team VR46 – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.407
19- Jules Danilo – Marinelli Rivacold Snipers – Honda NSF250RW – +1.424
20- John McPhee – British Talent Team – Honda NSF250RW – + 1.426
21- Albert Arenas – Aspar Mahindra Moto3 – Mahindra MGP3O – + 1.544
22- Maria Herrera – AGR Team – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.546
23- Darryn Binder – Platinum Bay Real Estate – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.759
24- Kaito Toba – Honda Team Asia – Honda NSF250RW – + 1.769
25- Lorenzo Dalla Porta – Aspar Mahindra Moto3 – Mahindra MGP3O – + 1.889
26- Enea Bastianini – Estrella Galicia 0,0 – Honda NSF250RW – + 1.971
27- Manuel Pagliani – CIP – Mahindra MGP3O – + 2.080
28- Tony Arbolino – Sic 58 Squadra Corse – Honda NSF250RW – + 2.125
29- Nakarin Atiratphuvapat – Honda Team Asia – Honda NSF250RW – +2.337
30- Tatsuki Suzuki – Sic 58 Squadra Corse – Honda NSF250RW – + 3.473
31- Patrik Pulkkinen – Peugeot MC SaxoPrint – Peugeot GP3-17 – + 4.261
Reference times:
Test record: 2'05.832 by Livio Loi (Honda) in 2016 (FP2)
Lap record: 2'05.862 by Alexis Masbou (Honda) in 2014
Best top speed: 240,3 km/h for Bo Bendsneyder (KTM) in 2016
