Alonso steals the headlines from Kelso on Friday

The #80 was quickest on the opening day of action, finishing ahead of Kelso and Fernandez at the Chang International Circuit

Moto3™ kicked off a fascinating weekend at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, with David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) grabbing Friday honours after a brilliant start to the weekend. The #80 clocked a 1:40.703 on Friday afternoon on what was a hectic day for the Colombian, who ended the day with a 0.385s advantage over Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) in second. The Australian had a great opening day of action in Thailand, improving in the closing stages of the session after setting 15 laps. Kelso placed ahead of Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), with the #31 ending Friday as the top Honda rider with a strong starting point for this weekend.

Alonso had a busy morning, finding the limit with a crash at Turn 3 before remounting and later posting a 1:40.544 to end Free Practice at the top of the standings and with a new lap record. Temperatures continued to rise, and once Practice 1 got underway, Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) was the rider at the top of the standings as Alonso suffered a second crash of the day before remounting and improving on his Practice 1 time to end Friday at the top of the standings.

Meanwhile, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) worked hard throughout the day, claiming fourth spot and ending Friday in front of Veijer. After leading early on, the Dutchman dropped back to fifth, 0.587s adrift from Alonso’s reference time. Veijer rounded out the top five, while Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) continued to impress, stealing sixth place on a great day for the Italian. Lunetta improved on his final fast lap to place ahead of MT Helmets – MSI’s Ivan Ortola, who seeks redemption after a tough Australian GP. Ortola was ahead of David Almansa (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team), who had a busy day in eighth.

Further back, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) rounded out the top 10 places, with the #36 lapping inside the low 1:41 bracket. Meanwhile, David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) were 11th and 12th, as Scott Ogden (FleetSafe Honda – MLav Racing) and MT Helmets – MSI’s Ryusei Yamanaka took the vital final spots inside the top 14.

Set your alarm clocks and join us on Saturday, with Moto3™ starting Saturday’s action at 08:40 local time (UTC +7) before an unpredictable qualifying gets underway at 12:50 (UTC +7)!

Top 10:

1 David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team)  1:40.703
2 Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports)   +0.385
3 Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) +0.453
4 Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) +0.584
5 Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) +0.587
6 Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) +0.653
7 Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets - MSI) +0.723
8 David Almansa (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) +0.736
9 Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.757
10 Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) +0.788

 

FULL RESULTS!

MotoGP™ VideoPass: Free Trial offer

Delve into our archives and enjoy Thai GP qualifying with our limited time offer!

Start your Free Trial now!
Get the official MotoGP™ Newsletter!
Create a MotoGP™ account now and gain access to exclusive content, such as the MotoGP™ Newsletter, which features GP Reports, incredible videos and other interesting information about our sport.