The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo secure direct spots in Q2 after a very positive first day at the British Grand Prix.

Red Bull KTM Ajo completed the first day at Silverstone with positive feelings all round. Brian Uriarte placed fourth and Alvaro Carpe eighth in the British Grand Prix Practice session, leaving both riders ready to fight for the Pole Position tomorrow.

Ideal track temperatures of 26°C greeted the riders for the first day of action, as they began proceedings with Free Practice 1 at 10 a.m. local time.

Carpe was the pacesetter in the opening minutes of Free Practice 1. The Spaniard focused on finding a good setup to kick off the weekend well, and remained in the Top 3 until past the halfway point of the session. After his trip back to the garage, he reemerged with seven minutes for a final stint. Focused on preparing for Sunday’s race, he didn’t improve his time further on used tyres, settling for a 2:11.429 after 13 laps of the longest circuit on the calendar. Carpe placed 8th in the session. Uriarte also put in 13 laps, and showed signs of adapting quickly to a track completely new to him. In just over fifteen minutes, the Moto3 World Championship’s top rookie climbed to fourth place, right behind his teammate. Following a similar strategy to Carpe, Uriarte also ran the same tyre for the final part of the session, taking 12th place with a best time of 2:11.558.

For Practice, track temperatures rose to 45°C, as the Moto3 field attempted to make their way into Q2.

Uriarte rode alongside David Almansa and Maximo Quiles, two of the strongest competitors in the series, to find a good race pace on his initial run. His 2:09.668 allowed him to maintain first place until the final minutes, when the rest of the field began their Time Attacks. Whilst he himself also went back out in search of a quicker time, he was unable to do so, and after thirteen laps, had to settle for fourth place. Carpe worked predominantly on his own, although he was also able to latch onto a group to assess his feeling in terms of reference points and slipstreaming. After a somewhat more subdued start to Practice, he went on to make a significant leap forward, getting within just 2 tenths of a second of his teammate and dropping into the 2:09s before launching his final attack in the closing minutes. Like his teammate, he did not manage to take further tenths off, and his 2:09.929 gave him eighth place.

In conclusion, two direct places in Q2 for the Spanish Moto3 duo from Red Bull KTM Ajo, who felt comfortable today both riding in a group and on their own. Tomorrow, at Silverstone, both riders will go straight into Q2 at 2:10 p.m. (local time). Before that, in the morning, they will participate in Free Practice 2 at 9:40 a.m., one hour later than usual.

Practice Results
1. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | 2:09.568
2. Scott Ogden (KTM) | 2:09.578 (+0.010)
3. Veda Pratama (Honda) | 2:09.639 (+0.071)
4. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:09.668 (+0.100)
5. Casey O’Gorman (Honda) | 2:09.751 (+0.183)
8. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:09.929 (+0.361)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“The day went very well overall. We put in some very good laps, both with used and new tyres, so the feeling is very positive to start things off here at Silverstone. I didn’t quite manage a good Time Attack on the last run in Practice, but we got into Q2, which is what’s important. I really like the circuit, we’re enjoying ourselves, and the weather has been kind to us so far, so everything has started as it should. Now we have to focus on Qualifying and fine-tuning details for Sunday.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“I’m very happy with today. I felt very comfortable on a circuit I didn’t know, and which also seemed very challenging. The goal was to adapt as quickly as possible, and I think we achieved that, so I’m very satisfied with us going directly into Q2. Tomorrow morning we can focus on preparing for Qualifying and the race. We know very well what steps we need to take now, and we’re convinced we can take them to arrive on Sunday in the best possible condition.”