Riccardo Rossi emerged as the leader in the Moto3 Q1 session at the Japanese GP. As a result, the Italian was one of the last four riders to secure a spot in the battle for pole position at Motegi.

After the first flying laps, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) was the leader ahead of Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team/Honda), Mario Aji (Honda Team Asia) and José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo). However, several riders only posted their first lap times later on.

Filippo Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) briefly moved into second place, pushing Rueda out of the qualifying positions, and then had a highside at turn two. Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) overtook Furusato with six minutes remaining to become the new leader. At the same time, his teammate, Xavi Artigas, moved into third.

Despite improvements in lap times, the top four remained unchanged, with Kelso, Furusato, Artigas, and Farioli holding those positions.

However, this changed in the final two minutes when Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) became the new leader, and Rueda moved into fourth. As a result, Artigas fell out of the qualifying zone by 0.039s. The standings didn’t change further until the end, and thus the last four participants in Q2 are Rossi, Kelso, Furusato, and Rueda.

Results:

O conteúdo Riccardo Rossi set the pace of the Moto3 Q1 and moves on to Q2 at Motegi aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Riccardo Rossi will embark on a new chapter of his career in the Moto3 World Championship next season. The rider will represent the CFMoto Factory Team, where Xavier Artigas will stay.

Rossi entered the Moto3 category in 2019, having passed through Gresini, BOE, and, in the last two seasons, SIC58 Squadra Corse. His best results to date are two third-place finishes.

As for Artigas, he made his full-time debut in 2021 and achieved his only victory so far in that year. After his debut with Leopard Racing, the Italian has been with CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP since last season.

Florian Prüstel, managing director, explained the choice of these riders: ‘As a factory team, there will be many innovations for us next year. We were already able to test the new Pirelli tyres, but the bike itself will also undergo some technical changes. The race calendar is becoming even more international, so we decided on a very early stage that we rely on the experience and riding safety of existing Moto3 riders’.

Regarding Artigas, the German leader commented: ‘We are still committed to Spaniard Xavier Artigas, we firmly believe in him and his potential. He has already taken a win in the Moto3 class and other podium finishes, so we know he has what it takes to be at the front of the pack. By extending the collaboration, we want to give him the confidence to focus fully on the current season. Xavi is a very talented and ambitious rider with a clear goal in mind, just like ours. We will work hard together to achieve the best performance on the track!’.

As for expectations about Rossi, Prüstel stated: ‘We have been watching Riccardo Rossi for a while and now we have signed him. We are very much looking forward to working together, because Riccardo has also been able to set his highlights in the field of Moto3 riders in the past. Having him too as a CFMoto factory rider will strengthen us as a team in the World Championship and we can move forward together’.

O conteúdo CFMoto announces Riccardo Rossi in Moto3 for 2024; Xavi Artigas stays in the team aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.