Things got spicier today at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as the MotoGP action continued with the two final free practices followed by the qualifying sessions. In front of Austrian fans who came in numbers, both Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez were on the lookout for a good grid position on KTM homelands.

The Australian rookie Remy Gardner had a rather positive Friday despite the tricky conditions, and today was all about taking advantage of the dry track in order to gain experience on the MotoGP machine on the challenging, but fun to ride we have been told, Red Bull Ring. In the first session this morning, Remy was faster and his best lap in 1’30.554 placed him in P23 at the end of the combined free practices. When qualifying time came around, the rookie continued to improve (-0.157 secs) and finished the session with a personal best of 1’30.397. He is set to start the Austrian Grand Prix from the twenty-second position tomorrow, as he will aim to grab a good result in KTM Turf.

The other rookie Raul Fernandez focused on trying to make a few adjustments in order to improve his feeling on his KTM to help him adapt to the Austrian layout. He placed himself in P25 at the end of the combined free practices (1’31.204). After the final free practice, Raul set off for his thirteenth qualifying session in MotoGP, at the end of which he registered his fastest lap of the weekend so far (1’30.475). He will line up on the grid from the twenty-third position tomorrow in front of a crowd full of orange (we hope) as the MotoGP race is set to start at 14:00 GMT (+2) for twenty-eight laps.

Remy Gardner

Grid Position: 22

Time: 1'30.397

Laps: 8

"Of course I am disappointed about my lap cancellation because it would have been a good lap. Our pace is not so bad, but it is not amazing either. We have room to improve and go a bit faster. I look forward to the race tomorrow and I think that we can have a good one. Full gas!"

Raul Fernandez

Grid Position: 23

Time: 1'30.475

Laps: 8

"Today we really focused on making improvements on the bike, but also on how I feel on it. I think that we had a good pace today and I hope that we can have a good race tomorrow. The weather looks a bit uncertain, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I have enjoyed today, and look forward to tomorrow."