The Spanish rider narrowly misses out on his first victory on the final corner. Uriarte makes a great comeback to finish seventh.

It was a great Sunday for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 at the United States Grand Prix, as Alvaro Carpe secured third place. The Spaniard tried to overtake for the win on the final corner, but had to settle for earning his first podium of the season, the sixth in his career. Meanwhile, Brian Uriarte climbed seven places to finish seventh -his best result so far in Moto3, as he did in Thailand.

Whilst overcast, the conditions for the Moto3 race saw track temperatures reaching 42°C, with relatively lower humidity than during the rest of the weekend. It meant a cautious choice of tyres for the lower cylinder class riders.

Carpe made a magnificent start, taking the holeshot from 1st on the grid and avoiding any potential trouble at Turn 1. After the first sector, he pushed hard to try and stretch out the group, before relinquishing the lead to Maximo Quiles a few laps later. With the first third of the race completed, and two riders crashing on the entry to the back straight, the battle for victory was narrowed down to five riders, one of them being Carpe. Initially unable to contend Quiles’s strong pace, he had to fight his way back to catch up with him, finally managing to do so with three laps remaining. A four-way battle ensued, with Carpe snatching the lead at the final corner. However, his move on Valentin Perrone sent him slightly wide, and he eventually finished third. It was his first podium of the season and the sixth of his career, moving him up to second place in the Moto3 World Championship standings with 42 points.

Uriarte had a perfect start, overtaking four other riders to move from 14th to tenth before the end of the first lap. Aiming to prevent the leading group from pulling away, he continued to climb through the field and had a spell in the lead of what became the chasing pack. As the laps progressed, two crashes at the front allowed him and seven other riders to battle for sixth place. As the rookie approached the finish line, his bike and that of Adrián Cruces made contact, nearly ending up in a crash. He ultimately secured seventh place, matching his best result to date -achieved at the ThaiGP a month ago. Uriarte is now ninth in the Moto3 World Championship with 23 points.

After a great weekend overall, Red Bull KTM Ajo are joint-second in the Team standings with 65 points, and now face a break lasting almost a month. They return to action at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto for the Spanish Grand Prix, on April 24-26th.

Race Results
1. Guido Pini (Honda) | 31:20.489
2. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | +0.056
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.254
4. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | +0.445
5. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | +9.192
7. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +15.105

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2026
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 65 points
2. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 42 points
3. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | 38 points
4. Guido Pini (Honda) | 36 points
5. Marco Morelli (KTM) | 32 points
9. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 23 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2026
1. CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team | 97 points
2. Leopard Racing | 65 points
3. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 65 points
4. Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 58 points
5. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 33 points  

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“Overall, it was a positive weekend here in Austin. The conditions were quite good, and Alvaro especially really found himself this weekend. The first couple of weekends were quite good, but maybe he wasn’t at his best, and here he was very strong from the beginning. He found his rhythm and he was able to push alone, as we saq yesterday in Qualifying, where he was incredible. During the race he was also great. There was a moment when he was near to losing the front group, but he managed to recover in the end to fight for the victory until the last corner. The result wasn’t what he was hoping for, but it’s still a very positive weekend. Brian also had a great weekend at one of the hardest tracks for a rookie. Qualifying wasn’t the best, but he managed to fight for the first position in the second group today, so that’s a big thing. We’re looking forward to continuing  with this progression with him.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We finally got our first podium of the season. I’m a little disappointed with how the race here in Austin ended, as I not only lost two positions, but Perrone also missed out on a podium finish, and I feel bad for him. The race went well, although we struggled at times, but luckily, we managed to turn things around in the final stages. We have to focus on the positives; it’s been a very complete weekend. We led the race, secured a Pole Position, and finally got that podium finish we were hoping for. Now it’s time to switch off, keep working, and start thinking about Jerez.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“This was an important result today. The goal was to learn, knowing that with my grid position it would be difficult for us to be in the leading group. I think we managed the race well, and battling with so many other riders allowed me to learn things from all of them. We’ll try to put all that into practice at the next few rounds. The work this weekend has been very good, so I’m leaving Austin with a very positive feeling from my first time here. We could have gained one more position, but I’m happy with my performance and the process we’ve been through with my team, to whom I’m extremely grateful. I’m really looking forward to getting back to Europe.”