The Spaniard climbs from 13th position to secure a podium finish on the line. Brian Uriarte places fourth in his best result to date.

Raceday at the Catalan Grand Prix saw Red Bull KTM Ajo enjoy a fantastic pair of results. Alvaro Carpe fought back to snatch second place at the chequered flag, whilst Brian Uriarte had his best race of the season in fourth place, including him leading the contest for ten laps and missing the podiums for only 30 thousands of a second.

In contrast to the weather forecast, the sun was out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Moto3 race. Track temperature reached 20°C and there was 57% humidity for the 18-lap contest.

Carpe got off the line well from 13th on the grid, quickly settling into the leading group to gain places without losing time to the frontrunners. By the end of the fourth lap, he was already up into ninth, as part of a dense pack. Past the halfway point, this group began to spread out, and he reached fifth place with seven laps to go. He even briefly took the lead of the race, but everything was decided on the final lap. From sixth position, he recovered positions until he caught up with his teammate, then managed to overtake David Muñoz to cross the line a mere 4 thousandths of a second ahead. With second place, Carpe secured his second podium of the season, his seventh with Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto3, and now has 73 points -just three points behind second place in the overall standings.

Uriarte took off from 3rd on the grid, and claimed the holeshot to lead a Grand Prix for the very first time. The rookie tried to stretch out the leading group early on, but was reeled in by the strong slipstream on the main straight. After the first four laps, the leading group settled at nine riders. Uriarte again tried to break away for several laps past the midway mark, demonstrating the best pace of the field, but consistently had his progress cancelled out by slipstreaming. The chaotic final lap left him in fourth place, just a tenth of a second shy of victory. Having led 10 laps and achieving his best result ever in the class, the Spaniard remains ninth in the overall standings with 42 points.

Red Bull KTM Ajo took their second podium finish of the season and the best Sunday of the year so far, bringing their total to 115 points in the Team standings, where they remain third. The seventh round of the Moto3 World Championship will take place in two weeks’ time with the Italian Grand Prix, which will be held at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello from May 29-31th.

Race Results
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 32:28.964
2. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | + 0.094
3. David Muñoz (KTM) | +0.098
4. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.128
5. David Almansa (KTM) | +0.552

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2026
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 140 points
2. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | 76 points
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 73 points
4. Marco Morelli (KTM) | 58 points
5. Veda Pratama (Honda) | 58 points
9. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 42 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2026
1. CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team | 198 points
2. Leopard Racing | 122 points
3. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 115 points
4. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 92 points
5. Red Bull KTM Tech3 Liqui | 77 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“Very positive race day here in Barcelona. Brian has taken a great step forward, especially after the test at Jerez, and he was one of the strongest riders this weekend. He really deserved the victory today, but unfortunately, the slipstream affected things too much on the main straight and he couldn’t open a gap at the front. This round was very positive for him. Alvaro managed to turn a very complicated weekend around today in the race and achieved an important podium. He still has margin to improve his overall performance a little bit more during the weekend and the Practices to find more consistency and the tools to fight for victories in every race”.

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“Without a doubt, we’ve made the most of a tough weekend. I think we rode a smart race, avoiding getting into too much trouble, especially at the beginning. We gradually worked our way up the order, and then in the second half of the race, everything got crazy. In fact, I’d say it’s the Moto3 race where I’ve made the most overtakes, which is something I really enjoy; I was able to savour it. We started the last lap far back, but everything happened very quickly, and we came within a whisker of winning. This podium is vital to getting the season back on track. I’m very happy for the team.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“I’m very happy to have been able to fight for the win -and even lead for a good part of the race. It’s a shame about that last lap; we lacked experience and made mistakes, but we learn from everything that happens. I enjoyed it, showed a strong pace, and we made a name for ourselves, which is very important. We finished fourth, our best result of the season, and earned some good points for the standings. Today we have to focus on that; I’m sure we’ll have more opportunities to be up there and handle that last lap better.”