The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders overcome high temperatures at the DutchGP to earn places in Q2.

The intense heat at the Dutch TT on Friday couldn’t prevent Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte from achieving their objective for the day. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders progressed well throughout the day, ultimately securing seventh and tenth in Practice.

Warm, sunny conditions kicked off the weekend in Assen, continuing the circumstances from the previous weekend in the Czech Republic. Ambient temperature was at 23°C and track temperature at 29°C for Free Practice 1.

Carpe moved almost immediately into the Top 3, in a repeat of his performance from last Friday in Brno. Whilst he had a minor coming-together with Adrian Fernandez at the entrance to the track’s trademark chicane, the incident was resolved without adverse consequences. After the first part of the session, the Spaniard pitted to prepare for the final stretch, returning on track with six minutes remaining. It was then that he managed to take the lead on his last lap of a total of 16, with a best time of 1:40.869. It was the sixth time Carpe had topped a practice session in 2026. Uriarte completed a single run at Assen, with the aim of accumulating as many kilometres as possible of an almost entirely unfamiliar circuit. Hovering around the Top 20, the rookie gradually moved up the field before the end of the session, when he strung together several consecutive fast laps that left him in 12th place, with a time of 1:41.512. He was just 6 tenths of a second behind his teammate, after a total of 16 laps.

Even hotter conditions awaited the riders on Friday afternoon for Practice, with an ambient temperature of 34°C and a track temperature of 47°C.

Carpe once again strung together a series of positive laps from the start, moving up to third on one of his opening flying laps. After changing tyres, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider went back out to lead a pack of riders, but was unable to significantly improve his time. His 1:41.389 put him seventh after completing 17 laps, and earned him a direct spot in Q2. Uriarte had a slightly better start to proceedings than in Free Practice 1, firmly in the Top 14 during the first half of the session. After his first run, he was up to 13th, allowing him to approach the Time Attack with extra confidence. After his change of tyres, Uriarte tried to work with Carpe, although the large chasing group did not make this strategy easy to employ. On his 13th attempt, he managed to lower his time to 1:41.506, giving him tenth and securing his place in Q2 for the second round in a row.

In conclusion, it was a good start for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo, who -for the second time in a row- managed to go straight into the fight for Pole Position, avoiding tomorrow’s Q1. With the goal of taking another step forward under the Dutch heat, both riders will take part in Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning at 9:25 a.m. (local time), followed by Q2 at 1:10 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Joel Kelso (Honda) | 1:40.918
2. Guido Pini (Honda) | 1:41.134 (+0.216)
3. Eddie O’Shea (Honda) | 1:41.167 (+0.249)
4. Marco Morelli (KTM) | 1:41.313 (+0.395)
5. Adrian Cruces (KTM) | 1:41.317 (+0.399)
7. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.389 (+0.471)
10. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.506 (+0.588)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“This first day at Assen went quite well. We felt comfortable both in the morning and the afternoon, we were able to work on single laps and Time Attacks, and we made solid progress for the rest of the weekend. This afternoon it was very hot and windy, which made things a bit tricky, but we adapted, and that’s what’s important. Overall, things went as planned, so we’re ready to take another step forward tomorrow.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“This morning I pushed myself to the limit to get back up to speed, as it had been a long time since I’d ridden at Assen. I felt quite comfortable from the start, so the goal for Practice was to try and take another step forward. The second session also went as planned, although we still have a few things to fine tune. Tomorrow morning we’ll try to finish preparing and then head into Qualifying, which will be important for Sunday.”