Pole for Canet in Moto2™ and Alonso in Moto3™ and new records with Pirelli

After taking pole position in the GP of Qatar, at the Circuit of the Americas, Aron Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) took his second pole position of the Moto2™ season, whereas David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team/CFMOTO) dominated both Friday and Saturday, taking his first pole position in Moto3™.
It was a positive début for Pirelli on the Texan circuit, with riders in both categories going extremely fast right from the practice sessions on Friday, setting new all-time lap records. All the tyre performed well, particularly the softer compounds which were the most popular ones in both categories.

Lots of riders breaking the all-time lap record in both classes
 
“The riders in both classes were extremely fast straight away, despite the track providing low grip on Friday - a condition which then improved gradually as it rubberised, allowing the times in the morning to progressively drop until the all-time records were broken in both Moto2 and Moto3. Besides the fact that the new lap records are significantly faster than the previous ones, it is also noteworthy that it was not a low number of riders who dropped below the record, but many of them - in Moto2 an incredible 23 out of 29 - which demonstrates that the improvement compared with the past is not just the prerogative of a few select riders, but that it is attainable for all. The compounds chosen for this GP are all performing well. In qualifying, everyone naturally opted for the soft rear solutions, but this could also be the trend for the races tomorrow because the wear levels seem to be good, even if there is no evidence due to a lack of long runs, and the weather conditions should be similar to today. As for the front, practically all of the solutions are valid. For the race, some may prefer the SC2 which could provide an advantage over race distance, but in Moto2, the SC3 also had positive feedback, with performance very much in line with the SC2.”

Moto2™
 
· Already in P1 on Friday, three riders had broken the all-time lap record set by Cameron Beaubier in 2022 at a time of 2'08.751. The fastest was FermÍn Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp/Boscoscuro) in 2'08.359, which he then improved further in P2 with a time of 2'07.543 using new tyres in the SC1 (soft) compound at the front and SC0 (soft) rear. An amazing total of 23 out of 29 riders dropped below the 2022 track record in the P2 session. 
 
· Aron Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) was back in pole position thanks to a time of 2’07.631 obtained on the final lap of the six he turned using SC2 front and SC0 rear. The Spaniard was unable to improve on the lap record Aldeguer set in P2 due to the wind. Finishing behind him were Aldeguer (with SC1 front) and Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI/Boscoscuro) to complete the front row. In Q1, Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex) was the fastest rider with a time of 2'07.797. Also managing to go straight through to Q2 were Jaume Masia (Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Tea/Kalex), Albert Arenas (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2/Kalex), and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team/Kalex), all using the soft SC0 at the rear, whereas at the front, Vietti and Masia used the SC2 with Arenas and Moreira on the SC1.
 
Moto3™
 
· There were some extremely fast riders in the entry class as well, with five in P2 dropping below the track record which Aron Canet had held since 2017 with a time of 2’14.644. David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team/CFMOTO) was fastest in every session and in the last one he did his absolute best time in 2'14.153 using SC1 (soft) compound tyres on both the front and rear.
 
· During the qualifiers, where the riders used the soft SC1 at the rear, the wind kept them from improving on the already outstanding times they had done in P2. After dominating the practice sessions, David Alonso (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team/CFMOTO) took pole position with a time of 2’14.292. In Q1, the four riders who managed to go through to Q2 made different choices at the front: Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing/Honda), Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team/CFMOTO), and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) used the SC2, whereas Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3/GASGAS) opted for the SC1. In Q2, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo/KTM) and Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3/GASGAS) used the SC1 front, whereas David Alonso took pole position with the hard SC2 compound.