Somkiat Chantra (IDEMISTU Honda Team Asia) proved he means business at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as he dominated Friday morning's Practice 1 session. The Honda Team Asia rider put in consistently fast laps to control the session from the top, setting a 1:34.160 towards the end to secure P1. Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) kept himself consistently within the top 3 and finished the session 0.240s away from Chantra in P2, with Filip Salac (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) also proving strong around the Red Bull Ring in P3.
A late improvement sees @somkiat35 leap to the top again! 🔥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 18, 2023
He's quickest at the end of #Moto2 P1 👏#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/jiPwqtz2qI
It was a good session for Honda Team Asia as Ai Ogura (IDEMISTU Honda Team Asia) was also enjoying life towards the top of timesheets, eventually finishing the session in P4. It's an important weekend for Tony Arbolino (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) as he looks to reignite his Championship hopes. The Italian starts the weekend in a decent position in P5, 0.545s away from Chantra at the top. The Silverstone victor Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) also showed strong pace as the Spaniard rounded out the top 6 ahead of Jake Dixon (Tensite GASGAS Aspar Team) and Celestino Vietti (Fantic Racing) who finished in 7th and 8th respectively.
Make sure to tune in as the Moto2™ action continues with Practice 2 at 14:05 local time (GMT +2).
Top 10:
| 1. | Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) | 1:34.160 |
| 2. | Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 0.240 |
| 3. | Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2™) | 0.407 |
| 4. | Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) | 0.545 |
| 5. | Tony Arbolino (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) | 0.618 |
| 6. | Fermin Aldeguer (Speed Up Racing) | 0.640 |
| 7. | Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team) | 0.753 |
| 8. | Celestino Vietti (FANTIC MOTOR) | 0.760 |
| 9. | Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 0.879 |
| 10. | Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) | 1.038 |