The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders will be on the first and second rows of the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix.

For the first time this season, Red Bull KTM Ajo will start from first and second row with their two riders, with Alvaro Carpe third and Brian Uriarte fifth, at Jerez. Earlier in the day, both had to deal with wet conditions in FP2.

As predicted, rain arrived early on at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. Fortunately, it stopped before FP2 began, although the track remained damp, with track temperatures at 17°C and 92% humidity.

Uriarte once again demonstrated his talent under adverse conditions, leading the session from the start for a considerable spell and stringing together five consecutive fastest laps. After a pit stop in the final stretch, he went back out for the final five minutes. Despite dropping to fifth place, the Moto3 rookie put in another great lap on his penultimate attempt, lowering his best time to 1:56.517, which placed him second after 13 laps. Carpe took a more conservative approach, waiting ten minutes before heading out onto the track. From then on, without taking excessive risks, he gradually built up his feel for the track, reaching the Top 10. However, in the closing minutes, he dropped to 15th place. His top time from ten laps was a 1:58.422.

By Q2, the situation had completely changed. The sun had appeared mid-morning and the surface had dried out, with favourable conditions of 29°C track temperature and 68% humidity.

Carpe led a large group on his first run, unable to get a tow or any reference points, which relegated him to sixth before he came in to change tyres. However, he was able to make progress on his second run, managing to reach third place. With a best time of 1:44.655 from his six laps, he earned a spot on the front row of the grid for the third time this season. Uriarte found himself in a small group on his first run, alongside Maximo Quiles, one of the fastest riders of the weekend so far. After a strong first stint, he moved up to fifth, a position he maintained until the end of Q2, achieving his best qualifying result of the season. His fastest time of 1:45.049, from seven laps completed, put him on the second row of the grid.

All in all, it was another successful day for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team, which secured the best combined result in Q2 so far this season thanks to Álvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte. The 19-lap Moto3 Spanish Grand Prix gets underway at 11:00am (local time) on Sunday.

Qualifying Results
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:44.070
2. David Muñoz (KTM) | 1:44.445 (+0.375)
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:44.655 (+0.585)
4. Joel Esteban (KTM) | 1:44.836 (+0.766)
5. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:45.049 (+0.979)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“This morning we tried to get a good feeling with the bike, although the conditions were tricky. This afternoon, qualifying went a bit better and we managed to put together some clean laps to get on the front row, which is one of our main goals every weekend. Now it’s time to fine-tune some details so we can fight hard tomorrow. We’ll try to enjoy ourselves and give our best performance in front of these great fans.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“Today was another good day in Jerez. In the morning, I felt very comfortable in the rain and we did a good job. In qualifying, we didn’t quite manage to put together a perfect lap, but the result was good, and starting from the second row always helps to avoid extra work at the beginning of the race. Now it’s time to work towards tomorrow and fine-tune the setup so we can have a great race in front of the fans.”