A magnificent first day of the Valencian GP saw Luis Salom take an early advantage. The current Moto3 World Championship leader was quickest on the opening day of practice sessions at the Ricardo Tormo track, setting a new circuit record in the process. Zulfahmi Khairuddin was in the top ten in both practice runs, whilst Arthur Sissis made steady improvement and is confident about Saturday. Good weather and temperatures of 17ºC were the backdrop to the opening session of the year’s final round. Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Luis Salom and Zulfahmi Khairuddin began strong, but it wasn't until his final stint that the former moved up into first place with a 1:40.403 lap. That time broke the previous circuit record at the track and was the quickest of the day.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin, eighth with a time of 1:41.432, completed a satisfactory session, and Arthur Sissis placed twenty-third. Salom, Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Sissis were back on track in the second session, which featured stronger winds. Gusts of up to 32 km/h affected their afternoon, impeding their quest to lower their times from the morning. Salom was, however, able to set a good pace on used tyres and was just 13 milliseconds off the top time with a 1:40.502 lap. Zulfahmi Khairuddin, seventh with a 1:41.311 lap and sixteenth-placed Arthur Sissis (1:41.771) were able to improve their morning times.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin missed the final four minutes of the session after a crash at Turn 3, from which he escaped unharmed. Tomorrow sees qualifying take place from 12:35pm local time. Last year, Salom took a front row start, whilst Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Sissis took off from the sixth and seventh rows, respectively.
Communication Press Ajo - www.ajo.fi -