The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders finish second and third, knocking one second off the track record.

There was a great start for Alvaro Carpe and Jose Antonio Rueda at Termas de Río Hondo. In the morning, the mixed conditions did not allow for any work on bike setup, although Rueda showed he had a good feeling in the wet, with second place. In the afternoon, the track dried out, with the two Red Bull KTM Ajo riders moving into the Top 3 in Practice.

The weekend at Termas de Río Hondo got off to a mixed start. With the asphalt somewhat cold and delicate, both Rueda and Carpe did not want to take excessive risks and gained confidence lap by lap.

Rueda emerged as one of the fastest riders throughout the session. The Spaniard was able to finish second with a best time of 1:57.624, achieved on his last lap of a total of 14. Carpe completed his first laps at a new track, but was forced to conclude the session earlier than expected due to a technical problem. The rookie, having completed eight laps of the Argentinian track, finished 21st with a fastest lap of 2:00.865.

In the afternoon, although the skies remained overcast, the track kept dry, and the Moto3 riders were able to work in perfect conditions. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were quick from the start, especially Carpe, who placed fourth early on, despite having barely ridden during the morning. In the final minutes, on fresh tyres, he clocked a 1:47.345 to take second place, putting in 17 laps. Rueda rode the same number of laps as his teammate, who finished third with a 1:47.451. With these times, both broke the circuit record set in 2022.

Aiming to go into Q2 even more prepared to fight for Pole Position, both Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will face Free Practice 2 at 8:40 a.m. In the afternoon, Rueda and Carpe will go straight into Q2 on Saturday at 1:15pm local time.

Practice Results
1. David Almansa (Honda) 1:46.981
2. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:47.345 +0.364
3. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:47.451 +0.470
4. Valentin Perrone (KTM) 1:47.685 +0.704
5. Joel Kelso (KTM) 1:47.754 +0.773

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“This morning the track was quite wet, but in the afternoon we were able to ride in dry conditions. It also gave us a chance to test out a few things, as it’s our first time riding at this circuit, both with this bike and with the new tyres. Overall, I’m quite satisfied with the work and the feeling we had, so tomorrow it will be important to take another step forward in FP2 and reach Q2 even better prepared to fight for the front rows.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“I’m very happy with today’s work. When I went for the Time Attack at the back of the pack, I was able to put in two very good laps. We’ve learned from what happened on the first day in Thailand, so that here we could go straight into Q2. Also, the teamwork with my teammate is very good. We get along very well and have a lot of feeling, and that makes things much easier when we go out on track. Tomorrow it will be important to set a good time to be able to start at the front of the grid -and avoid the problems on the first lap.”