The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider places second in Q2, with Uriarte taking twelfth place in Q2 after another good day of progress.

Alvaro Carpe will start from second on the grid for the Thai Grand Prix, the opening race of the Moto3 World Championship season. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Brian Uriarte secured twelfth position and will complete the fourth row of the grid.

The day began with a very productive Free Practice 2 for the Moto3 riders, with ambient temperatures of 26ºC and 83% humidity. Many competitors undertook a single run in the session, to prepare for Sunday’s race.

Carpe steadily improved throughout the session, working alone across two stints. He clocked his best lap on his 12th attempt, with a 1:41.441. The Spaniard ultimately finished fifth, putting in a total of 14 laps. Uriarte headed the timesheets for several minutes at the beginning of the session. After riding as part of a group initially, he switched to working solo during the second half of the session to continue finding his race pace. He completed a single stint on track, without pitting. He rode some 18 laps, the most of anyone, with a best time of 1:41.651 for 11th place.

In Q2, track conditions saw an ambient temperature of 33ºC, allowing the riders to up their pace.

Carpe preferred to wait for a large group to leave the pits so that he could ride by himself. He set the best lap of the weekend up to that point on his first attempt, with a 1:40.518 more than four tenths of a second quicker than his nearest rivals. After a return to the garage, he went back out alongside Uriarte to lay down more laps, and eventually had David Almansa snatch pole position from him in the final seconds. He managed to secure second place and will start from the front row of the grid at the first Grand Prix of the season. Uriarte was part of a strong group on his first run, moving up to fifth place on the opening lap. After his pit stop and tire change, he improved slightly, staying close behind his teammate, but interference from other riders in the pack prevented him from climbing the timesheets further. His 1:41.426 -from a total of 8 laps- was his best time ever at Buriram, and puts him 12th on the grid. It was Uriarte’s best ever Q2 result with Red Bull KTM Ajo, following his 14th and 13th places in Portugal and Valencia at the end of last year.

All in all, Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte are now heading into the final stretch of the Thai Grand Prix. With the clear objective of scoring important points for Red Bull KTM Ajo, both are focused on Sunday’s 19-lap Moto3 Thai Grand Prix, which will start at 12:00 p.m. (local time) on Sunday.

Qualifying Results
1. David Almansa (KTM) | 1:40.088
2. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:40.518 (+0.430)
3. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | 1:40.693 (+0.605)
4. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:40.697 (+0.609)
5. Veda Pratama (Honda) | 1:40.877 (+0.789)
12. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.426 (+1.338)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“Qualifying went really well, and I felt very comfortable working alone. We’ll have to see how we fare riding in a group here, as tomorrow looks like it will be a race of constant battles with a lot of people at the front. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think I could fight for the win tomorrow. I feel strong, with good pace and plenty of confidence, so tomorrow we’ll try to fight. The important thing is that we manage the start and the first two laps well, as we’ll need to pass cleanly, without getting into any pointless fights. From there, we’ll see what we can do. We’ll give it our all and enjoy it to the fullest, that’s for sure.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“Today went well and was a very productive day. We took another step forward and got even closer than I expected. We have a good race pace, so we’ll try to fight as hard as we can on Sunday. In Q2, we weren’t quite able to put together a perfect lap, but our starting position isn’t bad, so we’ll try to get a good start and make the most of it. We don’t yet have the pace of the frontrunners, but I’m happy with the progress we’ve made so far. The objectives, for now, are clear: to reduce the gap to the fastest riders. Step by step, I’m sure we’ll get there.”