Deniz Oncu has set himself up to challenge for his long awaited maiden Moto3 World Championship victory by dominating proceedings in during Practice for the Italian Moto3 at Mugello, while Scott Ogden was an impressive fifth.

Considered one of the favourites for the 2023 Moto3 title, nevertheless Oncu is yet to top the podium in the class aboard the Red Bull KTM Ajo.

However, his chances appear to be strong at Mugello, Oncu commanding a sizeable advantage over the opposition in P1 before going on to shift the goalposts even wider with a series of quick laps during the afternoon session.

Peaking with a 1m 56.485secs effort, it put Oncu half-a-second clear of his nearest rival. He will be mindful, however, that he was similarly quick in the run up to the Spanish Moto3 at Jerez, only to struggle in the pack in the race finishing at the bottom end of the top ten.

The only other rider to join Oncu in the 1m 36secs bracket was Ayumu Sasaki, the Japanese rider +0.2s clear of Jaume Masia and Ivan Ortola, the Spanish pair having made big gains between the sessions to hold down an overnight third and fourth.

If there were few surprises among the top four, then Ogden's run to fifth come the end of the day sets him up for a potentially landmark weekend. On the pace in both P1 and P2, the VisionTrack Racing Honda rider was only +0.3secs off Sasaki in second.

Romano Fenati flew the flag as the best of the Italian riders, ahead of Filippo Farioli, with Joel Kelso, Stefano Napa and Taiyo Furusato rounding out the top ten.

However, there is work to do for two of the title contenders, with overall leader Daniel Holgado flicked into a high-side at Turn 12, while Diogo Moreira could only manage the 18th best time.

Italian Moto3, Mugello | Practice Results FP1 & FP2 Combined

Friday | Conditions - Sunny, Dry, Warm