Jose Antonio Rueda is third in Practice, with Alvaro Carpe 19th at an unfamiliar track for him.

The first day of the 2025 season took place on Friday in Buriram, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders both established a good feeling and a clear path to follow for the rest of the weekend. Jose Antonio Rueda was third in the afternoon Practice, going directly into Q2, while Alvaro Carpe had to settle for 19^th in a new track for him.

The morning Free Practice was held amidst perfect track conditions, which allowed the riders to work on their setups for the season opener. Rueda began the Thai Grand Prix well, and led the session until almost the end, riding alone and working on his race pace. Finally, he placed second with a best time of 1:40.901.

Carpe also had a great first session in Buriram. On his first encounter with the Chang International Circuit, he suffered a small crash at the start of FP1, but was able to get back on track swiftly and was riding inside the Top 10 positions until the closing minutes. However, he finished 12th, with a fastest time of 1:41.620.

In the afternoon, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders had the opportunity to earn a direct path into Q2. Once again, Rueda focused on riding alone to prepare for Sunday’s race, and racked up a total of 34 laps across the two sessions. He remained among the fastest in Practice and was able to complete the session third, thanks to a 1:41.191.

Carpe, who struggled a little more than in the morning due to the heat and the high temperatures on track, closed Practice in 19th with a time of 1:42.132. He put in a total of 26 laps on the Thai track, ending his first day at the circuit in a positive way.

Both riders will take part in Free Practice 2 on Saturday, from 8:40 local time. After that, Carpe will have to go through Q1 from 12:50pm, while Rueda will only go out to compete in Q2 (1:15pm).

Practice Results
1. Matteo Bertelle (KTM) 1:40.931
2. Stefano Nepa (Honda) 1:41.166 +0.235
3. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.191 +0.260
4. Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM) 1:41.230 +0.299
5. Angel Piqueras (KTM) 1:41.261 +0.330
19. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.132 +1.201

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We had a very good day to start the ThaiGP, but we need to keep working like this for tomorrow. I felt better during the morning, but it’s normal because of the high temperatures on track during the Practice session. I’m happy because we were able to try different setups for the race -and all of them work well. It’s important to prepare as best as possible for Sunday’s race, because it will be the hottest time of the weekend and we need to be prepared for the final laps.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“It wasn’t a bad start to the weekend. We worked well and we also learned from our mistakes. I’m not 100% satisfied, because you always have to want more, so we’ll have to go through Q1 and fight to be in Q2. I’m sure that tomorrow we can take another step forward and gain some positions on the grid for Sunday, so let’s try to do a good second day here.”