Joel Kelso clocked the fastest time in the Moto3 Valencia Grand Prix practice sessions. Most riders set their best laps in the third session this morning, including the Australian, which proved crucial for direct qualification to the second phase of qualifying.
Filippo Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) led after the initial flying laps but was quickly overtaken as the lead changed frequently in the first seven minutes. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM) briefly held the first position, yet Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) took over within the opening quarter-hour. With 19 minutes elapsed, Farioli reclaimed the top spot on the timesheets.
However, Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) shortly outperformed him. He was then surpassed by Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) before Kelso (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) posted the best time of the sessions at 1m38.569s. Sasaki trailed by just 54 thousandths, with Holgado third, 0.100s behind.
Further down the standings, champion Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) was among the seven riders unable to improve from yesterday, finishing in 14th place. He secured direct entry into Q2 by a mere 19 thousandths, while José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took 15th.
David Alonso (Valresa GasGas Aspar) also missed direct access to Q2, as did Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team/Honda). However, the Briton suffered a crash in which he dislocated a shoulder, ruling him out for the rest of the Grand Prix.
P3 timesheet:
Combined standings P1 + P2 + P3: