Jose Antonio Rueda lead the opening day of Moto3 action in Qatar forꦚ round four of the championship, with the fastest lap on Friday set under the floodlights, sending the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider directly t🥂o Q2 with the top time.

The cooler conditions after the sun set i✱n Lusail allowed for improvments, with the #99 leading the Moto3 class after practice, with a best of 2m 03.277s set heading into the final five minutes as the Spaniard looked at home solo or in a group.

Rueda, who has never previously a point scorer in Qatar - the Spaniard missed the round last൩ season through illness - had competition with the Frinsa - MT Helmets - MSI bikes working together on t🌳rack to fill the top three.

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Ryusei Yamanaka was second quickest , just 0.244s behind and was also fast when flying solo, with Angel Piqueras picking up third as he bit the bullet and took the advantages coming his way with the teamwork he seems to prefer to avoid, with all of the top thre💞e KTM r🌜unners.

Dennis Foggia was inside the top five for the first time since he began his Moto3 return, but it was not all good news for the CFMoto Gaviota Aspar rider, assisted from his bike by Adrian Fernandez, who attempted a pass there was no room for, with his time holding firm for fourth with Foggia out of action for the rest of the session.
 

Rivacold Snipers rider Riccardo Rossi was the top Honda ౠin fifth, but over half a second away from Rueda’s best.

Sixth went to David Munoz. The Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider was fastest in the earlier blistering heat, but s♔tarted 22nd in practice, then spent most of the session in the pits.

Back on track there was woꦅrk to be done as the clock was rapidly ticking down, causing the Spaniard to pull out a lap full of overtak🐷es to climb to sixth.

Alvaro Carpe wa𝓀s the top rookie for Red Bull KTM Ajo, putting both of bikes inside the top ten in s✱eventh.

Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato was a solid eighth, Nicola Carraro ninth for  the Snipers team, with Luca Lunetta making hဣuge improvements for SIC58 Squadra Corse to complete the top ten.

Eleventh place went to Scott Ogden on the CIP Green Power bike, the twelfth best rider was Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), Joel Kelso finshed 13th after🅰 solo work for LevelUp - MTA and a late lap from Tachakorn Buasri which elevated him from 19th to 14th completed the automatic Q2 qualifiers.

Returning rider Jacob Roulstone was the man to just miss out in 15th, with Fernandezဣ also out of Q2 in 16th, with his move on Foggia under investigation by race direction, and a possible penalty to come.

There was a f♕all for Stefano Nepa (20th), with 𒈔just under twenty minutes remaining, sliding a long way through turn 13, holding his ankle after a fast crash.

David Almansa (17th )also ended his session in the gravel, this time at turn 6, with Fꦆoggia the only other⭕ faller.

The first session of the day saw Munoz lead FP1, but over two🗹 seconds off the old lap record after hitting the top with a fiery lap, speeding past Rueda.

 Yamanaka was a close second, just 0.015 separating t♌he pair, and Rueda finished third in the slow session, caused by the hot condit🧜ions at the track.

Pini was the top 🅘rookie in FP1, in fourth, ahead of Austin podiumᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ finisher Kelso in fifth.

The session saw the last flying laps cancelled by a late, huge fall at turn 14 for Adrian Cruces, leaving him strewn on the blue and yellow paint at that cornꦰer as the chequered flag waved. The replacement rider was the only faller in the first session.

There are several 👍rider changes ahead of the Qatar round.

Fourth in the championship, with poles at the opening two rounds aജnd a podium finish in Texas𒁏, Matteo Bertelle is out of action for Level Up - MTA after suffering fractures to his arm and leg last Sunday (6 April). The Italian is not replaced.

A fur🅷ther training incident has taken CFMoto Gaviota Aspar rooಞkie Maximo Quiles out of action, fracturing his right thumb in a fall between rounds, which was not initially detected until he was checked again in Qatar by the medics, with a further X-ray revealing the issue.

Aspar have named Joel Esteban on the entry list as a late replacement for the teenager, who had impre♍ssed on his debut weekend at COTA qualifying second and leading briefly on his way to a fifth place finish.

Adrian Cruces had been filling in for Noah Dettwiler in his absence, with the Swiss rider back in action, Cruces gets another round as he returns, this time replacing Marcos Uriarte , who also missed the last round in Austin. Cruces was diagnosed with a fracture to his left foot following his FP1 fall, so is now also out of the Qatar weekend, aiming to be fit in time for his Junior GP campaign start.