Moto3 Valencia: Guido Pini crashes and finishes 4th, Leopard one-two and a new record

The Leopard boys lead the opening day of practice in Valencia, shining especially in the afternoon session to secure direct Q2. Guido Pini manages it as well: after a morning-session tumble, he stands out in Practice and finishes with a fine 4th place. Just ahead of him is another rookie, Valentin Perrone, while Luca Lunetta is the second and last Italian in the top 14. Remarkable to see Jesus Rios, in only his second World GP with Snipers, in 7th position. Here’s how the day went at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Standing out in this first session is another crash for Cormac Buchanan, fortunately without consequences. The Kiwi rookie has had a ton of falls in this debut Moto3 season—almost a record... It’s not much better for Guido Pini, who also went down in this session, but he was able to get going again quickly to avoid losing too much time. He would end up 9th ahead of Luca Lunetta, while at the front we note the late flyer from rookie Alvaro Carpe, clocking a 1:38.357, followed by Joel Kelso and Adrian Fernandez.

It’s time for the most important session of this first day in Valencia. After the initial feel for the track in FP1, now it’s about securing the top 14 for direct Q2 tomorrow. There are plenty of changes in this session, with a few scares for Piqueras and Ogden, but in the end both Leopard riders make themselves well noticed. David Almansa in particular, the new holder of the absolute Moto3 lap record at Valencia, snatching it from Brad Binder for the first time since 2020. Adrian Fernandez and Valentin Perrone round out the top 3, with Guido Pini 4th and the best of the Italians.