Carpe, after a great day, places fourth in Practice, with Uriarte seventh on his first ever day at the Czech circuit.

Red Bull KTM Ajo had their best Friday of the season so far at the Automotodrom Brno, with Alvaro Carpe finishing fourth and Brian Uriarte seventh in Practice for the Czech Grand Prix. The pair earned direct spots in Q2 for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix, capping off a great first day.

Track temperature was already above 25ºC early on Friday morning in Brno, with humidity nearing 50%, indicating that the weekend’s conditions will be challenging for the Moto3 field.

Carpe started FP1 demonstrating strong potential from his first flying laps, which placed him third. After the first fifteen minutes, he was able to move up to the top spot. Riding alone throughout the session, the Spaniard finished in third place with a time of 2:05.459, 3 tenths of a second faster than his best time from last year, when he debuted at the Czech circuit. In total, he completed 14 laps. Uriarte began adapting to a circuit with which he was unfamiliar, and made a positive impression early on. With the intention of getting as many laps as possible during the first session of the weekend, the rookie quickly moved into the Top 15. After completing 14 laps in a single run, his best time of 2:06.332 put him 12th.

In the afternoon, conditions became more extreme, with an ambient temperature of 29°C and track temperature rising to 47°C. The pace was also scorching, with the circuit record broken by more than 7 tenths of a second during Practice.

Carpe put in some solid opening laps, despite a small scare on the home straight where he ran wide into the gravel. However, right after this minor incident, he climbed to third place. In the final ten minutes, during Time Attack, he went out alongside his teammate, managing to lower his time on his 12th lap out of a total of 14. His 2:05.041, 4 tenths of a second faster than in the morning, rounded off one of his best Fridays of the season so far. Uriarte showed consistency once again, working alone and riding consistently within the Top 14. After the first ten minutes, he put himself in ninth place, improving on his fastest lap from FP1, and then maintained this position until the final Time Attack, when he began working alongside Carpe. Thanks to the collaboration, the rookie dropped his time twice in a row, reaching a 2:05.567 that was 8 tenths faster than his best in FP1. Uriarte was seventh on his first day in Brno.

All in all, it was an excellent Friday for the two Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders, who -after several rounds- have once again managed to qualify directly for Q2 together, and did so showing a great performance, both in the morning and in the afternoon. On Saturday, both riders will take part in Free Practice 2 starting at 8:40 a.m. (local time) before Q2 to decide the Czech Grand Prix grid from 1:10 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 2:04.754
2. David Almansa (KTM) | 2:04.944 (+0.190)
3. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 2:05.013 (+0.259)
4. Alvaro Carpe (KTM) | 2:05.041 (+0.287)
5. Joel Esteban (KTM) | 2:05.129 (+0.365)
7. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:05.567 (+0.813)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We’ve changed our working method a bit compared to previous Grands Prix, and I think this will help us take a step forward. Today I felt fast from the start, with a good feeling both in terms of pace and my Time Attack. We need to clean up some details, and we know where we can improve. The most important thing now is to make further progress on Saturday and, above all, to qualify well, so our objectives are clear.”

#51BRIAN URIARTE

“This was a positive day to start off with at a circuit I didn’t know until now. We improved as the sessions progressed and ended up much closer to the front, which is the important thing for a Friday. We have room for improvement, we’re analysing where we can do better, so I’m sure we can take another step forward tomorrow. We were able to go directly into Q2, which means a risk has been avoided, so we have a positive feeling and are eager to face the second day to continue closing the gap to the pacesetters.”