David Almansa was the fastest rider on Friday (the 11th) during the free practice sessions for the San Marino Grand Prix, the 14th round of the 2026 Moto3 season. In the last of the two sessions held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, in Italy, the Intact GP rider posted a best time of 1:40.767 on his fastest lap, leading the day’s times.
The second place went to Joel Kelso, GRYD Racing rider who was 0.402 seconds slower than Almansa. Championship leader Máximo Quiles closed the day with the third-best time on an Aspar bike, followed by his teammate, Marco Morelli. The top five was completed by Rico Salmela of Tech3.
Valentín Perrone, with a Tech3-prepared bike, finished the session in sixth place, ahead of Matteo Bertelle, seventh with MTA. Eddie O’Shea, on a GRYD Racing bike, was eighth, while Joel Esteban, from MTA, was ninth. The list of the ten fastest is completed by Brian Uriarte, from Ajo.
Beyond the top ten, all with times set in the day’s second session, four more riders secured direct entry into Q2 for the classification this Saturday. Connor O’Gorman, of SIC58, Scott Ogden, of CIP, Veda Pratama, of Team Asia, and Adrian Fernández, of Leopard Racing, also head straight into the pole-position battle.
The Moto3 schedule in Misano will continue this Saturday (12), with one more free practice at 3:40, and the qualifying starting at 7:45. The San Marino Grand Prix is set to start at 6:00 on Sunday.
