Indonesian racer Veda Ega Pratama showed a resurgence in the Moto3 practice session for the 2026 French Grand Prix after successfully securing a direct ticket to the second qualifying (Q2) at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, on Friday.
The Honda Team Asia rider finished the session in ninth place with a time of 1 minute 40.779 seconds, securing a place in the top 14, which automatically qualified him for Q2 for pole position.
This result is a significant achievement for Veda after being left out of the safety zone in the middle of a tight and incident-filled training session.
From the start of practice , Veda immediately displayed an aggressive performance. The Gunungkidul rider even managed to break into the top three and battle at the front with Alvaro Carpe of Red Bull KTM Ajo.
However, the competition heated up as several riders improved their times. The challenging track conditions also triggered several accidents, including one involving current championship leader Maximo Quiles of CFMoto Inde Aspar.
MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez's student crashed due to tire loss. Not long after, Carpe also experienced a similar incident.
Amidst these conditions, David Almansa and Marco Morelli took turns taking over the leading position, while Veda slowly slipped out of the top 10 due to difficulties in improving lap times.
The pressure mounted as the final seven minutes approached. Veda dropped to 16th place, outside the Q2 qualifying zone.
However, in the decisive moment, the Astra Honda-trained racer managed to find his rhythm. Four minutes before the end of the session, Veda recorded a best lap, which briefly moved him up to fifth place before ultimately finishing ninth.
Veda finished just behind Quiles and ahead of a number of other riders who failed to make it into the safety zone, including Alvaro Carpe who had to settle for 17th place.
Meanwhile, the French Moto3 practice session was dominated by David Munoz from Dynavolt Liqui Moly Intact GP with a best time of 1 minute 40.211 seconds.
