The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders will be on the second and fifth rows of the grid for the final race of the 2025 season.

Saturday saw a continuation of form for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders, and Alvaro Carpe will start from sixth on the grid at the Valencian Grand Prix after a solid Q2. Brian Uriarte made it out of Q1 after setting the second fastest time of the session, going on to qualify in thirteenth position.

Conditions were much more favourable for FP2 than the previous morning, with temperatures reaching only 12°C on the track but with lower humidity than in FP1.

Uriarte made an immediate leap forward, improving his time from Friday on three occasions in the space of just ten minutes and momentarily placing second in the session. During a stint of around twenty minutes in duration, the Spanish rider tested his race pace, showing consistency and speed. After changing to used tyres, Uriarte was not quite able to further lower his best time. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider’s 1:37.949 left him in 5th place and with a much more positive feeling after putting in 14 laps. Carpe continued his progress with a steady start that placed him within the Top 10. Working on his pace riding alone, he was consistent and completed more than twenty consecutive minutes without pitting. After making a few adjustments, he went back out to continue fine-tuning his setup, but his best lap remained a 1:38.172. With this time, he finished eighth after riding 18 laps.

For Q2, temperatures improved substantially, reaching 20°C on the asphalt and with 55% humidity.

With virtually all the Q2 participants waiting for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to come out and provide them with a tow, the first few minutes of the session passed uneventfully for everyone. It wasn’t until 10 minutes remained that on-track activity began.

After a short first stint of just two laps, Carpe moved into the Top 5 and prepared for his second set of tyres. It was then that traffic increased, and his clean laps weren’t entirely perfect, preventing the Spaniard from improving his time. Finally, with a 1:37.390 -6 tenths of a second faster than his best time from the morning-, he secured sixth place on the grid. In total, he rode just five laps in the session.

Uriarte went into Q1 confident of advancing to Q2 after his positive morning session. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was the first out of the pit lane and didn’t let any rivals get close, allowing him to make his first run alone. He improved his time consecutively, but it was only enough to place him sixth, so he had to wait for his second stint to try again. He did so convincingly, shaving almost half a second off his best time of the morning, to move into first place. He managed to secure second position and guarantee his spot in Q2 with a 1:37.535. Uriarte was able to work alongside his teammate in Q2, trying to take advantage of the slipstream provided by the group, which briefly put him in the Top 10. After a pit stop and with very little room for error, he couldn’t improve his time any further, finishing with a 1:37.642 to qualify thirteenth on the grid.

All in all, it was a positive second day for the Moto3 Teams World Champion, who managed to place both riders in the Top 15 on the starting grid. Looking to take Red Bull KTM Ajo to a record tally in the Teams standings, Carpe and Uriarte will race in the 20-lap Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday, starting at 11am.

Qualifying Results
1. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | 1:36.990
2. David Almansa (Honda) | 1:37.126 (+0.136)
3. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:37:165 (+0.175)
4. Luca Lunetta (Honda) | 1:37.251 (+0.261)
5. Marco Morelli (Honda) | 1:37.296 (+0.306)
6. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:37.390 (+0.400)
13. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:37.642 (+0.652)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“Today we took a step forward. We took the opportunity to work with used tyres and the feeling was very good. I think we have a good enough pace to fight for top positions tomorrow, so we’ll try to have a good race and entertain all these fans here at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Our starting position isn’t bad, although we would have liked to be a bit higher up the grid, but we’re satisfied with the work we’ve done and very motivated to finish the year fighting for something good.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“Today was a positive day, where we managed to make significant progress. The goal for today was to improve our feeling with the used tyres in Free Practice 2 and make it into Q2, so we achieved that. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to put together a perfect lap in the second session, although 13th place is a good starting point for us. Tomorrow we’ll try to get a good start and move up the order. The work we’ve done is good and we’re confident, so we’re ready to fight in the race.”