Salac snatches Day 1 honours in Austin

The Czech rider finishes top of the pile in the dry afternoon conditions, World Championship leader Acosta claims 6th

Filip Salac (CarXpert PrüstelGP) fronts the Moto3™ field on Day 1 at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas after ending a dry FP2 on top, thanks to a 2:17.280. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) is second just 0.086s adrift of Salac’s pace, with title-chasing Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) completing the top three at the Circuit of the Americas.

A good day for the title contenders

After a fully wet FP1 session played out on Friday morning, the afternoon stint in the dry would decide the running order at the end of play. With just over five minutes to go, in-form Foggia was leading teammate Xavier Artigas by a tenth and a half, before Antonelli then climbed to P1 in a busy end to the day in the lightweight class. However, it was Salac who took Day 1 honours with his final flying lap.

Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) picked up P4 to sit a couple of tenths off top spot heading into Saturday, with Artigas rounding out the top five after producing a miracle save at Turn 11. World Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) enjoyed his first taste of the Circuit of the Americas, the Spaniard sits P6 after the first two Free Practice outings.  

Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) crashed at Turn 12 but was able to head back out and set a lap time good enough for P6, before his fastest lap was then cancelled, demoting the Italian to P9.

Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) took P7 and P8, Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) crashed at Turn 12 but was able to head back out and set a lap time good enough for P6, before his fastest lap was then cancelled, demoting the Italian to P9. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) closed out a top 10 covered by 1.099s, with these times potentially proving crucial in terms of an automatic Q2 place, with the weather forecasts suggesting rain is on the way on Saturday.

Make sure you tune into Moto3™ FP3 on Saturday morning to see who will be making it through to the final part of qualifying, the lightweight class kicks off proceedings at 09:00 local time (GMT-5).

Top 10 combined:
1. Filip Salac (Car Xpert Pruestel GP) – 2:17.280
2. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) + 0.086
3. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 0.126
4. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.213
5. Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) + 0.282
6. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.535
7. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.853
8. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 0.869
9. Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.979
10. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 1.099

FULL RESULTS! 

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