Iván Ortolá set the pace in Free Practice 1 for the Moto3 Japanese GP, establishing a new lap record. The track conditions significantly improved during the session, after earlier rain had affected Motegi that morning.
At the beginning, Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) quickly emerged as one of the fastest riders, but it was Ángel Piqueras (Leopard Racing/Honda) who held the lead for over a quarter of an hour after clocking a time at the 14-minute mark.
However, the Spaniard was soon overtaken by teammate Adrián Fernández, who then lost the top spot to Ryusei Yamahaka (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM). Shortly after, David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar) took his turn at the front.
The Colombian lead was short-lived, as Ortolá set a new record with a time of 1m55.550s. Piqueras improved his time, finishing just 0.157s behind Ortolá, which pushed Alonso down to third.
Yamahaka and Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), competing at their home circuit, rounded out the top five. Meanwhile, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GasGas Tech3), second in the championship standings, finished the session in 13th place, 0.943 seconds off the top time.
Timesheets:
⚡️ @IvanOrtola48 wraps up Friday on 🔝 in #Moto3! @AngelPiqueras18 secures 2nd despite suffering a late crash as Alonso, @yamanaka_ryusei and @TatsukiSuzuki24 complete the top 5 ✌️#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/bj0QGubZ7b
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 4, 2024
