Taiyo Furusato was the fastest in Practice 2 of the Moto3 Thai GP, breaking the lap record of the Buriram circuit, which had been set yesterday by David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar).
Almost all riders improved in this morning’s session compared to yesterday. After the initial flying laps, Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) took the lead, only to be surpassed shortly after. Alonso, Ángel Piqueras (Leopard Racing/Honda), Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda), and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM) also held the top spot at some point within the first ten minutes.
Then, Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) set a lap that kept him at the top for over a quarter of an hour, until Scott Ogden (FleetSafe Honda-MLav Racing) went even faster. But in the final four minutes, Furusato (Honda Team Asia) dominated, posting a sequence of three fast laps to set a record of 1m40.577s.
Iván Ortolá (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) finished 0.122s behind, followed by Joel Kelson (BOE Motorsports/KTM), Yamanaka, and Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GasGas Tech3). Alonso finished in tenth place, 0.387s off the pace.
In the combined standings of both practices, the Colombian was one of the few riders who didn’t improve over yesterday’s time, but his Friday lap still secured him third place, behind Furusato and Ortolá. In 14th place, David Almansa (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) secured the last direct spot in the second qualifying, leaving Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GasGas Tech3) 0.042s behind.
Timesheets:
At the top, it's the pint-sized @Taiyofurusato72 that leads the way into qualifying! 🚀#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/rKd22CRpm1
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 26, 2024
