Tech3 KTM Factory Racing kicked off the seventeenth round of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship as the MotoGP paddock returned to the Chang International Circuit for the first time in three years. Whilst the team set up under extreme rainy conditions on Wednesday and Thursday, Friday’s weather was a bit milder. Although the day started in wet conditions, the afternoon was dry.
Another week, another new track for the MotoGP rookies Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez who were riding in Thailand for the first time on a MotoGP machine. Whilst FP1 was about discovery and adaptation, they were able to work deeper in the afternoon. In the morning, Remy Gardner had a very good session and was only 0.802 seconds away from the top. His time in 1’31.325 placed him twentieth at the end of Friday. Teammate Raul Fernandez continued his progress in the afternoon and managed to ride in 1’31.390 to finish the first day in Thailand in twenty-second. The action will resume on Saturday at 10:50 (GMT+7) with Free Practice 3.
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Remy Gardner
Position: 20th
Time: 1'31.325
Laps: 37
"We struggled today with the medium at the front and it was tough to brake. For some reason it is not working for us here, so we are trying to understand why, although all KTM riders seemed to be in the same situation this afternoon. We should have probably tried the soft at least but the track conditions were difficult today. We will see what tomorrow has in store for us."
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Raul Fernandez
Position: 22nd
Time: 1'31.390
Laps: 38
"I enjoyed riding on the bike today, especially that everyone was quite close to each other at one point. I was feeling a bit unwell though, probably because of food poisoning, so I was not very comfortable on the bike with a stomach ache. I did not have much sleep last night and felt really tired today. Anyway, apart from that, I think that I have margin to improve because during my two fastest laps today, I went wide on one and got the yellow flag on the second one. If this had not happened, I think that I could have been riding in 1'30.9 or 1'31.0, which will be our target for tomorrow."
