The two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders finished seventh and eighteenth on the second day of official testing at the Spanish circuit.

The second day of testing for the Moto3 riders at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto was held this Sunday, rounding off the preseason work for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders in the smaller cylinder class. Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte once again made a good impression at the Spanish track and concluded with a wealth of data gathered from two days of intense work. With Carpe finishing seventh and Uriarte eighteenth, they completed a total of 81 and 74 laps, respectively, reaching a combined total of 300 during the Moto3 Official Test.

The second day of action began with slightly chilly track temperatures, but conditions improved as the day went on.

Carpe was very competitive from the start of the day, coming very close to his best lap time from Saturday. In the space of just two hours, many riders managed to break the 1:45 barrier, with the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider being one of them. After combining longer stints with Time Attack runs, the young Spanish rider went into the lunch break in third position, with a best time of 1:44.453 and 32 laps completed. Upon going back out, he accumulated further track time, following his Saturday strategy of first working intensively with his team to fine-tune his bike, and then putting in the final Time Attack runs of the day, after 5 p.m. His morning time was his best of the day, in which he completed 81 laps -compared to 73 on Saturday- for a total of 154 overall.

Uriarte was once again one of the first riders out on track. He began his work before 11 a.m., and didn’t take long to lower his best lap from Saturday. Before the first half of the day was over, he clocked a time of 1:45.263, even improving on his best lap from the Winter Test carried out at the Spanish circuit at the end of November. However, his progress was somewhat hampered by a small highside when exiting Turn 7, which forced him to the garage. Fortunately, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was unharmed in the incident and was able to resume testing after the lunch break, having completed 32 laps. In the afternoon, Uriarte continued with his plan, laying down another 42 laps, which allowed him to take another step forward in adapting to the bike and the class. His 1:45.072 was 2 tenths faster than his morning time, which ultimately placed him in 18th position. Suffering another minor crash in the final stages of Sunday, he brought two productive days of preseason testing to a close with a total of 144 laps ridden, providing him with a wealth of useful information to prepare for the start of the season in Thailand in less than two weeks’ time.

In conclusion, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 ends the final block of preseason testing with this Official Test in Jerez, which has brought good weather, a lot of work, and great results for the two Spanish riders. With 300 laps between them, Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte are heading home with their homework done and their sights set on Buriram, where they will open the 2026 season on Friday, February 27th.

Moto2 riders Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda will now take over from the Moto3 competitors for two more days of Official Test activity at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto. These will take place on Monday and Tuesday, with the same idea of putting in kilometres and getting ready for the start of the 2026 season.

Combined Results (Day 2)
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:42.930
2. Scott Ogden (KTM) | 1:44.054 (+0.124)
3. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | 1:44.054 (+0.124)
4. Guido Pini (Honda) | 1:44.340 (+0.410)
5. Matteo Bertelle (KTM) | 1:44.352 (+0.473)
7. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1:44.453 (+0.523)
18. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:45.072 (+1.142)

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“I’m leaving Jerez satisfied, because we were able to work a lot with both riders during the two days. The weather was kind to us, and we were able to make up some of the time that we had lost in Portugal. Alvaro set a great time yesterday at the end of the day and continued to improve today, focusing mainly on working with used tyres and to improve his race pace. For Brian, the weekend wasn’t as easy, but his progress has been very positive and especially at the end of todays practice he was able to set competitive times constantly on each run. The move up to World Championship is never simple, but he’s gaining valuable experience and knows which are the areas he has to improve, so we’re confident that he will take big steps very soon!”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“The second day has finished with a lot of work done in preparation for Thailand. We rode even more laps than yesterday, tested many things out, and took another step forward. I’m happy because I’m getting to know my new Crew Chief better, and the progress has definitely been positive. We were also able to improve on yesterday’s lap time, which is very positive and shows us that we’re continuing in the right direction. Now it’s time to rest a bit, breath and focus on the season itself, which we know is going to be long. We have to be competitive from start to finish.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“That’s my first Official Test with the team completed. We worked incredibly hard over these two days, so I’m very happy about that. I’m still getting to know the team, their way of working, and above all, the bike, so I’m satisfied that we keep making progress. Today we were able to significantly improve on my best time from yesterday, which is positive, and we put in a lot of laps, so that’s what we’ll take away from this weekend. I had two minor crashes today, and escaped unhurt, so now I’m focused on Thailand, where I’ll start my first full season in the World Championship.”