Moto3: Riccardo Rossi tops final day of testing

Riccardo Rossi topped the time sheets on the final day of preseason testing.

Riccardo Rossi was fastest on the final day of preseason testing at Portimao, as he continues to show his pace on the SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda. Rossi finished the last day of testing, fastest with a time of 1:47.211.

Fellow SIC58 Squadra Corse rider, Kaito Toba was down in 17^th position, as he continues to adjust to Honda’s Moto3 machine. Toba was just 0.827 away from his teammate as they prepare for the first race.

Jose Antonio Rueda enters the Moto3 class this year and finished in second position, ending the day as the first KTM. Rueda was 0.051 away from Rossi and is already showing his potential in testing.

David Munoz continues his form from last season, ending the final day of testing In third position. The BOE Motorsports rider finished ahead of his teammate Ana Carrasco, who finished in 26^th.

Jaume Masia finished day one as the fastest rider on day one and showed his pace early on at Portimao. He would end the final day in 19^th on his Leopard Racing Honda, finishing testing behind Bertelle.

Masia’s teammate Tatsuki Suzuki was ahead of Masia and was in seventh position, 0.247 from Ricardo Rossi. The 25-year-old was behind Daniel Holgado on the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 bike.

Scott Ogden had a very consistent final day of testing ahead of Moreira in eighth position. The VisionTrack Racing Team rider was 0.356 from the fastest rider, Ricardo Rossi, with a lap time of 1:47.567.

Josh Whatley was 27^th at the end of his test at Portimao, finishing the day ahead of Lorenzo Fellon. Whatley was just two seconds away from Rossi and Rueda, showing how competitive the Moto3 class is.

All new line-up for GASGAS

The reigning Teams’ and Constructors’ Champions, GASGAS enters the season with high hopes for their new riders. David Alonso finished the day in 10^th position, with the Columbian rider moving to Moto3 after finishing seventh in JuniorGP last season. Ryusei Yamanaka was in 20^th place, as he moves from the MT helmets team.

Colin Veijer was in 12^th position in the newly formed Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP team, as he aims to be rookie of the year. His teammate, Ayumu Sasaki finished ahead of Veijer after ending the day in fourth position

Going into his rookie season, Veijer said: “The level will be higher, and everyone is fast so there is no time to relax. I need to be always 100% focused in every session and working on the bike.”

CFMoto rider, Joel Kelso was in 13^th position as the Australian continues to adapt to the CFMoto team. Kelso also ended the final day of preseason testing in the Algarve behind Colin Veijer.

Deniz Oncu had a quiet preseason test, ending his final day at Portimao in 15^th position, behind his Tech3 teammate. Oncu enters his fourth season in the Moto3 class, with high hopes after finishing fifth in the standings last year.

Stefano Nepa continues in the Moto3 class after the Italian suffered an injury at the Malaysian Grand Prix last season. Nepa ended his day in 21^st place, onboard the Angluss MTA Team.

Mario Suryo Aji finished the day in 24^th, with his teammate Taiyo Furusato in 25^th at the end of the test. The Honda Team Asia duo showed their consistency throughout preseason testing. 

Image credit: motogp.com