Salom fastest on day one at Mugello

Tuscany welcomed the World Championship on Friday received with completely overcast skies and a wet track, which in the first practice session did not allow the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to fully enjoy the 5.2km Mugello Circuit. In the second session Luis Salom took the fastest lap of 1:59.606, while Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis were thirteenth —2:01.382— and twenty-first —2:01.899— respectively.

In the first 40 minutes of free practice, the riders used wet tyres in order to get a feel for the track. In eighth, Luis Salom was the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider to lap fastest, setting his best lap of 2:10:424.

With the passing of the hours between sessions, the track dried out for the second free practice and the riders had a chance to lower their lap times. Luis Salom came out strong and moved to the head of the timesheets from the start. However, his best lap was his last of the day, with a spectacular last sector ride that catapulted him to the top spot.

Tomorrow sees the last free practice session, then a qualifying session to decide the grid for Sunday. The weather forecasts again predict rain.

Luis Salom
“I felt really good on the KTM today, but there is still room for improvement so we shall keep on working. We will talk with the team this afternoon in order to keep up the work that we are doing, and continue improving on what we can. The track is good, but the pace was in the 1:58’s last year, so tomorrow we need to carry on. That said, last year it was much hotter.”

Source: Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport