Jaume Masiá was the fastest in the first practice session of the Moto3 Indian GP. The Leopard Racing rider led for almost the entire opening session at the Buddh International Circuit.
The first leader was Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM), who was at the front for the first ten minutes – except for a brief moment when he was overtaken by Filippo Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3).
In a session that lasted 50 minutes instead of the usual 35 minutes, adaptation to a new circuit was the key word – with lap times being less important than usual.
With 11 minutes gone, Masiá took the lead for good. The Spanish rider improved the benchmark lap time five times and ended up 0.141s faster than Moreira. Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM) finished in third place, followed by the Rivacold Snipers Team Hondas: Matteo Bertelle in fourth and Romano Fenati in fifth.
Further down the field, championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) could only manage 25th place, 2.758s behind Masiá. It’s worth noting that Kadai Yasseen Ahamed (Petronas MIE MLav Racing/Honda) is making a wildcard appearance at his home round, becoming the first Indian to compete in the World Championship. However, his lap time in this session was beyond 105 percent of the best.
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