A strong start for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 at the Aragon GP put both riders into Q2 for the eighth consecutive time.

A great Friday for Red Bull KTM Ajo at the #AragonGP saw both of the team’s riders in form. Jose Antonio Rueda topped the timesheets in both sessions, and Alvaro Carpe finished fourth in the afternoon practice session, as both riders made the cut for Q2.

On a sunny morning with perfect track conditions, Rueda snatched the top spot in the final stages of Free Practice 1, taking over from his teammate. The current Moto3 World Championship leader worked on his race pace alone until the final stretch, when he put together three consecutive fast laps to comfortably lead FP1. He finished the session with a best time of 1:58.014 which, whilst still far from his quickest lap from 2024, was enough to head the field by 9 tenths from his nearest rival. Rueda completed a total of 15 laps in the session.

Only one lap fewer was put in by Carpe, who set out his stall early and was the top rider for a period. However, during his second outing, the Spaniard decided on rehearsing a long run in preparation for Sunday’s race, and as such didn’t improve his time from his sixth lap onwards. With a best time of 2:00.194, the rookie, who turned 18 on Thursday, finished 14th.

In FP2, temperatures rose some 19ºC, and the pace was adjusted accordingly. Rueda started in the same way as in the morning: Riding among the pacesetters but focused on finding his best setup for Sunday. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was third on the timesheets at the start of his Time Attack, which he attempted along, with heavy traffic behind him. On his first flying lap, Rueda took the top spot, then followed that up with a time of 1:57.338 -setting the fastest lap in the session for the ninth time this season. The only negative from his 13 laps was a minor crash at Turn 7, which forced him to return to the pits early.

Carpe also improved his performance and his times compared to the morning session. The Moto3 rookie ultimately shaved 2.5 seconds off his previous time, and more than 5 tenths off his best lap ever at MotorLand. After 15 laps, his 1:57.661 was fourth, just 3 tenths off his teammate’s time.

As in Jerez and Silverstone, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team led both Friday sessions at MotorLand, although these two times have gone to Rueda’s side. Rueda and Carpe will fight for Pole Position at one of their home tracks on Saturday in Q2, which will begin at 12:50pm (local time). Before that, both will take part in FP2, which will begin at 8:40am.

Practice Results
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo)  | 1:57.338
2. David Muñoz (KTM) | 1:57.416 (+0.078)
3. David Almansa (Honda) | 1:57.639 (+0.301)
4. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:57.661 (+0.323)
5. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | 1:57.881 (+0.543)

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA
“Crashing at the end of the day wasn’t the best thing, but the day was very positive. We have the pace, we know what works and what doesn’t, and we have to keep working like this to do our best on Sunday. We have to stay focused on analysing how the grip levels could affect Sunday’s race, but for now, we’re enjoying ourselves. This circuit is special for me, so tomorrow we’ll try our best again.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE
“This morning wasn’t easy at all, because the track was very dirty. In any case, we rode very hard from the start, and then we put on used hard tyres to work on our race pace. In the afternoon, we made it into Q2. I felt very comfortable, we were calm and focused on ourselves, and everything went very well. We need to fine-tune some things with the setup, but I’m sure that tomorrow we’ll take another step.”