An excellent Saturday for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 will see their riders start first and third on the grid for their home Grand Prix.

Brian Uriarte secured Pole Position for the Austrian Grand Prix thanks to a perfect final lap in Q2. The Spaniard has broken the all-time lap record and will start from first on the grid for the second time this year. Brian will be joined on the front row by teammate Alvaro Carpe in third in the KTM home round. It is the team’s first front row double of 2026.

Conditions were challenging for Free Practice 2, mirroring the situation at Misano just a week ago. Whilst there was no rain in Spielberg, a wet track surface was accompanied by a track temperature of 16°C.

Uriarte was one of the few riders who chose to go out for almost the entire session. The Spaniard gradually lowered his lap times as a dry line began to form on the track, establishing himself among the top three fastest riders. Unable to use slick tyres, he completed the session in a single run, improving his time consistently. Following a very strong final few minutes, Uriarte topped the session with a 1:47.740, having put in 13 laps. Carpe completed seven laps, and opted not to take any risks, waiting in the pits to see how the session unfolded before heading out for the final ten minutes. He decided to take to the track for a single run, through to the chequered flag. Showing steady improvement, the Spaniard shaved more than 7 seconds off his initial best lap to place 13th.

The heat rose during Q2 as the sun came out, with a track temperature of 16°C.

Uriarte was the first to head out on track, riding alone and displaying great form at the Red Bull Ring. Initially sitting in second place, he slightly improved upon his Practice time during his first run, before returning to the pits for a tyre change while in third place. Upon his return, trailing Quiles and Carpe, he began to close the gap. He made up time in the third and fourth sectors on his last lap to snatch pole position, clocking a 1:39.544. It was his second pole of the season and a new circuit record at KTM’s home track.

Carpe saw all his attempts on his first run cancelled, forcing him to leave the job for the end with his second set of tyres. With no lap time recorded until the final two minutes, he had to go back out quickly to avoid running out of time. However, far from being conservative, the Spanish rider clocked a great time, moving up to fourth place -though that lap was also cancelled, forcing him to wait for his final attempt. It was then, using a good reference point, that he managed to climb to third place, securing his fifth front-row start of the season. With a best time of 1:39.859, he completed 7 laps in total.

In conclusion, it was a brilliant Saturday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team, which made the most of the final minutes of Q2 to secure both bikes a place on the front row of the grid. The Spanish duo have their sights firmly set on the podium. The 20-lap Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix will be held on Sunday, starting at 11:00 a.m. (local time).

Qualifying Results
1. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:39.544
2. David Almansa (KTM) | 1:39:608 (+0.064)
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:39.859 (+0.315)
4. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:39.981 (+0.437)
5. Matteo Bertelle (KTM)| 1:40.317 (+0.773)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“Having reference points is crucial when hunting for a fast lap here, and I think we executed that plan perfectly. We’ll have to see what the tyre degradation is like tomorrow, as the track conditions this weekend haven’t really allowed us to do much work with Sunday’s race in mind. We’ll need to give 100% from the very first lap to try and keep pace with the fastest riders, so the plan is to get a good start and fight as hard as possible to secure a strong result.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“We struggled a bit more yesterday, but today we found some details that made us feel faster and more comfortable. I was really surprised when I crossed the finish line and saw the time I’d set, because I think there’s still room for improvement in certain parts of the circuit. Tomorrow, I’ll try to take another step forward and keep learning; that’s the most important thing this year. I’m motivated and looking forward to this Sunday at KTM’s home race. We’re going to fight for the win, so we’ll give it absolutely everything.”