The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 pair place in the Top 5 in both Free Practice 1 and Practice.

Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte placed third and fifth, respectively, in Practice on the opening day of the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders thus guaranteed their spots in Q2 following a successful Friday; both consistently ran in the Top 5 across the two sessions held.

With no rain or standing water on the track, the Moto3 riders were able to contest Free Practice 1 in dry conditions, albeit with cold temperatures on track of just 14°C. The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo approached their first outing on the Austrian circuit with a mix of confidence and caution.

Carpe had a positive session, making significant strides during his initial flying laps and showing much greater consistency than he had the previous weekend in San Marino. Although the Spaniard was running within the Top 10 regularly, he had several laps cancelled due to track limit violations. After a strong final stint, he climbed from 11th to 4th place, just thousandths of a second behind the rider in second. He completed 16 laps, with a best time of 1:41.300. Uriarte was initially among the Top 3. While at the head of a group during the opening laps, the Spaniard had to sit up following a close call at Turn 9, but managed to get back on track without issue. After his first run, he adjusted his setup with his crew and set another solid lap, working alone for his final stint. He improved once again on his last attempt, with his 1:41.349 just 49 thousandths slower than his teammate and putting him fifth. The rookie completed 16 laps.

By the afternoon, the sun had come out in Spielberg, warming the track conditions up to 18°C for Practice.

Carpe was inside the Top 5 after his first run, then returned to the pits earlier than planned to prepare for his time attack; this allowed rivals to move above him, temporarily dropping him out of the Q2 spots. However, in the closing minutes, he managed to find a good reference point on track, and rose to third place. With no improvements from his rivals, the Spaniard secured the position with a time of 1:40.171 -faster than his previous personal best at the Red Bull Ring by 2 tenths of a second. Carpe completed 17 laps. Uriarte set out to establish his pace riding alone, focusing on preparations for Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring. Although sitting in third place, he continued to make solid progress before heading back to the pits to prepare for his time attack. Already assured of a spot in Q2 due to his previous laps, he tried to improve his time further but was unable to do so, finishing fifth with a 1:40.278. The lap was more than a second faster than his morning effort, and one of18 he put in at Spielberg in the afternoon.

All in all, it was a very positive Friday for the Spanish duo from the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team, who remained in the Top 5 throughout both Free Practice 1 and the Practice session at the Red Bull Ring. With the aim of keep the momentum, both will face tomorrow Free Practice 2, which will take place at 8:40 a.m. (local time), while in the afternoon, the Red Bull KTM riders will take part in Q2 to battle for Pole Position starting at 1:10 p.m.

Practice Results
1. David Almansa (KTM) | 1:39:668
2. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:39.863 (+0.195)
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:40.171 (+0.503)
4. Matteo Bertelle (KTM) | 1:40.190 (+0.522)
5. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:40.278 (+0.610)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“It’s certainly not a bad way to start in Austria. It was very cold today and the track was somewhat tricky, both in the morning and the afternoon, which forced us to be extra cautious at all times. However, I think we did a good job, putting in some quality laps to secure a spot in Q2. We still have plenty of room for improvement heading into tomorrow and Sunday, so we’re going to try to fine-tune the details so we can ride more safely without having to push quite so close to the limits.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“Our feeling is very good. We were quite fast today, and our pace for Sunday isn’t bad, so it’s a solid starting point. I’m happy with the work by the team and looking forward to taking another step forward tomorrow; we still have room for improvement in a couple of areas. The key is getting everything dialed in for the race and securing a good grid position -so we don’t have to take unnecessary risks during the opening laps on Sunday.”