The World Championship leader is fastest in FP1 and eighth in Practice. His teammate makes the cut in fourteenth.

Jose Antonio Rueda and Alvaro Carpe secured direct spots in Q2 during Practice for the Catalan Grand Prix, the former doing so for the 15th time in as many rounds. Carpe benefitted from a cancelled lap for a rival rider to make his way through in 14th place.

Early track temperatures were great for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders in the morning FP1 session in Barcelona, providing hot conditions forecast to continue throughout the weekend.

Rueda employed his typical strategy of working alone from the start. The Moto3 World Championship leader, with a first stint that lasted fifteen minutes, showed great pace, consistently in the Top 3 positions and just 2 tenths off the fastest time. After a pit stop, Rueda put in a short stint that included three consecutive fast laps, lowering his time to 1:47.483. He topped the first session of the weekend, more than 5 tenths ahead of the third-place finisher and less than 7 tenths off his best time ever at the track. Carpe opted to work alongside other riders to gain references and use slipstreams to his advantage. After his first outing, the rookie was 12th, less than a second off the top time. After making adjustments, he used his second run to improve his pace, and his penultimate lap was a 1:48.565, which put him in 11th -just over a second behind his teammate. He completed one lap less than Rueda, with 15.

With more heat than in the morning, the Moto3 riders took to the track for Practice in much warmer conditions, both in the air and on the track. 

Rueda decided to focus on his race pace, leaving his Time Attack for the second half of the session. Before pitting, he had already moved into the Top 10, just half a second off the lead, although still far from matching his morning time. In the final minutes, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider put in two consecutive fast laps that left him in eighth place, with a best time of 1:48.168 after 15 laps completed. However, despite securing a direct spot in Q2 once again, a minor incident at Turn 1 incurred a Long Lap penalty from Race Direction, which he must serve during Sunday’s race. Carpe completed a short first stint to adjust his setup as quickly as possible. In 15th, just outside the cutoff for direct access to Q2, he returned to the track in the final quarter of an hour with improvement in his crosshairs. He eventually put in a final flying lap of 1:48.327, which initially left him out by three thousandths of a second. However, the cancellation of Angel Piqueras’s final lap allowed him to regain a spot and make it into Q2.

With the first day of the CatalanGP completed with generally positive feelings, the two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders are already preparing to face another hot day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. With the aim of achieving a good grid position, Rueda and Carpe will take part in Q2 on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. (local time). Before that, both will have track time in FP2, starting at 8:40 a.m.

Practice Results
1. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | 1:47.584
2. David Muñoz (KTM) | 1:47.680 (+0.096)
3. David Almansa (Honda) | 1:47.779 (+0.195)
4. Guido Pini (KTM) | 1:47.961 (+0.377)
5. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:48.045 (+0.461)
8. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:48.168 (+0.584)
14. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:48.327 (+0.743)

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“In the morning, I felt very comfortable, even though the track was a bit dirty. I really like this circuit, and I quickly felt more at ease than at the previous two circuits we’ve visited. In the afternoon, I went out for the first session on used tyres and noticed a big difference compared to the morning. At first, I struggled a bit; it was hotter and windier, and I had less grip. Then, in the Time Attack and with new tyres, I felt much better, and we made it through to Q2, despite having a hard time putting in clean laps. We still need to fine-tune some details to be ready for Sunday, as working in such high temperatures is difficult, but we’re satisfied with this first day.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“It wasn’t easy today, with the hot conditions. We’re trying to find solutions to feel a little better. I know we’re on the right direction, so I’m motivated to keep making progress. Tomorrow we’ll have to take another step forward, to learn something new that will allow us to be a little closer to the front heading into Sunday. Everything is very tight on the timesheets at this circuit, and at the moment it doesn’t seem like anyone can make a big difference, so that’s positive because we have room to get in there. I trust the team and they trust me, so tomorrow we’ll have another chance to be more competitive.”