Moto3: Martin tops opening day in Mugello

Jorge Martin has topped the opening day of Moto3 action at the Italian Grand Prix, ending the day well clear of the chasing pack at Mugello. Leading a trio of Hondas at the front, he ended the day over a quarter of a second ahead of championship rival Aron Canet and Tatsuki Suzuki.

Philipp Oettl leads the provisional second row from Kaito Toba and Marco Bezzecchi, while the third row saw Jakub Kornfeil, Scot John McPhee and Fabio Di Giannantonio lining up, with Albert Arenas rounding out the top ten.

Speaking afterwards, Martin said: “We started pushing right from the get-go, as it was important to understand the level of grip of the track because last year we struggled with some dirt on the track. We were able to be quick already in the morning session using the soft compound at the front, which is usually not my preferred choice, so we immediately switched to a different one in order to avoid any risk.

“With the medium tyre we completed 7-8 laps with a very interesting pace. In the afternoon we improved the bike behaviour within the corners, as in previous races it was quite unstable, but we had to sacrifice something in terms of rear grip. We’re competitive with used tyres, while with new ones we managed to lap faster than last year’s best lap already, so everything seems to be going the right way.”