The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider faces his second season with the team with more ambitious goals and plenty of motivation to enjoy 2026 from start to finish.

Alvaro Carpe was one of the sensations of 2025 in Moto3, achieving five podium finishes, the Team title alongside Jose Antonio Rueda and Red Bull KTM Ajo, and finishing the season fourth in the overall standings with 215 points. With three second places, one of them just two thousandths of a second away from victory, the Spanish rider is clear about the first step he needs to take this season before considering more ambitious goals: achieving his first victory. Together with Brian Uriarte, who recently joined the team with the same previous titles and results as Alvaro a year later, both aspire to be one of the most formidable pairs in the category.

Your first Grand Prix as a full-time rider saw you on the podium in Thailand last season. How crucial was starting like that in terms of confidence?

The year started incredibly well and, luckily, it ended the same way, so we’re ready to start all over again now. The first result was very positive and helped us believe we could perform at that level for the rest of the year. Overall, last season taught me many things, both good and bad, but it was definitely the right moment for everything. The important thing is that we gained enough experience to start this season in the best possible way.

Victory slipped away by two thousandths of a second in Italy. Is that your main goal this year?

Obviously, in order to reach any other possible objectives, we would first need to achieve our first victory. I don’t have one yet, so, as a first target, that’s what we’re looking for. However, we know how difficult this class is and the number of great rivals we’ll have, so we’ll have to work hard to achieve it.

As the only rider on the team who participated in all 22 races in 2025, finishing 20 of them, all on points. Do you consider consistency one of your strengths? 

Consistency is precisely one of the things we had to learn last year, and something that we still need to improve. It’s good to have finished in the points in every race I completed last year. It’s a good base for this year, but we also have to be aware that we need even more consistency to always be in the leading group, without exception. The reality is that we had a slight dip at the start of the second half of the season, so we’ll try to make sure that doesn’t happen again this year. Other strengths that I have are my aggressiveness and my skill under braking.

After a all-time record 583 points for the team last year in Moto3, how are you staying grounded while also being even more ambitious for your second season?

I’m starting the year without any pressure, because I had a great time last year, enjoyed myself and did not push myself too hard. Maybe in some specific races I did put pressure on myself, but the most important thing is to approach the year simply wanting to enjoy it and do well; the rest will come. If you start thinking about things ahead of time, you suffer more than anything else, so focusing on the moment and enjoying the present is the best thing to do right now.

How has the winter been? Have you changed anything in your preparation from last year?

I’ve trained hard, and I think we’re in better shape than at the start of last year. I feel great, and I’ve worked very hard to be able to start at the right level, which is what we’re aiming for: A good performance from start to finish. 

Despite having an excellent season, at the start of the second half of the year you had some ups and downs in your results. How did you manage to get back to the top? When do you think you finally got it?

It was very difficult to come back, because my desire to return to the top of the standings wasn’t very compatible with the situation we were in. I had to take it steadily to get there gradually. I think we started to make the change when we got to the flyaways. I traveled there very motivated and eager to turn things around. It didn’t go very well in Japan, but we showed signs of slight improvement. Then we arrived in Indonesia, where I was able to consistently be at the front throughout the weekend until I was taken out by another rider. I also had a week’s vacation with some friends, which really helped me clear my head and understand how things were going. After that week, we arrived in Australia, and I had a great podium finish with Rueda, which gave us the Team championship and helped me re-establish my consistency in the leading group.

This year, your teammate is Brian Uriarte, who arrives with the same achievements as you and Rueda did, bringing together another high-level duo on the team. What advice would you give Brian Uriarte?

He should try not to put pressure on himself so he can enjoy this as much as possible. Brian is a very good rider, he’s really fast, and I’m sure we can do a great job together, just like I did last year with Rueda. This will definitely allow us both to improve. It’s a win-win situation so we can both be at the front, learn from each other, and have an easier time fine-tuning things and setting fast times.

All in all, Carpe faces this new challenge with conviction and enthusiasm. After a excellent welcome in 2025, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s #83 rider is swapping rookie status for experienced status in a team that, following the promotion of his former teammate Rueda to Moto2, leaves Alvaro as the main representative. With his characteristic smile and personality, the Spanish rider is ready to take this step forward from the first race of the season, which will take place at the end of this week in Thailand.