The World Championship leader tops FP1 and earns a 16th consecutive place in Q2 in the afternoon. Alvaro Carpe suffers mechanical problems in Practice and places 25th.

The San Marino Grand Prix weekend got underway with mixed fortunes for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team. Jose Antonio Rueda achieved fifth place in Practice, and made his way into Saturday’s Q2 session without problems, whilst teammate Alvaro Carpe only managed to complete four laps in the afternoon. Mechanical problems hindered his progress and relegated him to 25th, and he will have to go through Q1 at Misano.

The morning was sunny and warm for the Moto3 riders. Free Practice 1 saw temperatures of 18ºC on track (22ºC ambient) and the riders quickly achieved competitive times on the Italian track.

Rueda had a positive feeling in a good start, placing first on his opening flying lap. During the initial stages of the session he remained in the Top 5, although he focused on working on his set-up in search of a consistent pace on his own. In his second and final run, Rueda used a second set of tyres to improve his performance, managing to go back to the top with four minutes remaining. After this fastest lap, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was close to achieving two more, although he lost time in the final sector on both occasions. His 1:41.217 made him the pacesetter in the morning, with 16 laps completed in total. Carpe also decided to start the session riding alone, something that has become increasingly common for him in order to be competitive in any conditions he encounters in the race. Inside the Top 15, just over a second off the pace, the rookie completed the first session consistently. After a pit stop, Carpe took the opportunity to go out with his teammate and follow his lead, as a useful reference point for the rest of the weekend. He managed to improve several positions, and a time of 1:42.347 put him 16th after 15 laps.

Temperatures rose to 36ºC on track for Practice in the afternoon, twice as high as in the morning.

Rueda opted for the same plan as always, going it alone from the start to simulate the race as closely as possible. Two other riders followed him, taking advantage of the Spaniard’s slipstream to join him in the upper echelons of the timesheet. Rueda used fresh tyres for his Time Attack, improving his own lap once and coming very close to do so again on several more laps. He posted a 1:41.219 on his fifteenth attempt of 16, retaining fifth. Carpe also worked solo, but suffered issues in the session. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie only completed four laps before pitting, after noticing some problems with his bike. After discussing the matter with the rest of the team, he opted not to go back out on track, and as a result was 25th with his 1:43.438.

After a hot Friday with optimal conditions at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 will try to make another step ahead tomorrow before Sunday’s race. Both riders will be back on track on Saturday morning in FP2, which begins at 8:40 a.m. (local time). Following this, Carpe will take part in Q1, which begins at 12:45 p.m., before attempting to join Rueda in Q2, which gets underway at 1:10 p.m.

Practice Results
1. David Almansa (Honda) | 1:40.596
2. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | 1:41.094 (+0.498)
3. Joel Kelso (KTM) | 1:41.110 (+0.514)
4. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | 1:41.114 (+0.518)
5. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.219 (+0.623)
25. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:43.438 (+2.842)

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Every time we went out on track, we felt better than the previous time, and that’s very positive. The feeling from last week continued for us, so we’ll take another step forward tomorrow to get ready for Sunday. The Time Attack didn’t quite come together, but we’ll definitely fine-tune that tomorrow. I need to feel a little more comfortable for the race, but we know what we need to change, so tomorrow I’m sure we’ll achieve that. I’m looking forward to continuing in the same way and seeing what we’re capable of in Qualifying and on Sunday.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“Today was one of the toughest Fridays of the season. We had a problem with the bike, and when I detected it, I went into the pits to get it changed, but we didn’t have time to go back out again. Even so, I would like to thank the team for the work they have done to try to achieve it. We only managed three valid laps, so I will have to go into Q1. We have to look on the bright side, and tomorrow we have an extra session in the event that we make it to Q2, so we have time to fix it. In FP2 it will be important to be able to cover all the kilometres we couldn’t today, so I’m focused on Saturday and confident about our chances.”