After the double Top 3 in the Austrian grid, Uriarte and Carpe will do it again tomorrow in Motegi after being second and third in Q2.

For the second consecutive Grand Prix, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team secured front-row spots with both riders in Japan, as Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe took second and third, respectively, in Qualifying at Motegi. The results set them up well for Sunday, as they continue in the hunt for the Moto3 World Championship runner-up spots in both the Rider and Team standings.

Saturday brought clear skies and warmer temperatures at Motegi, with the track surface at nearly 30°C for FP2.

Both Carpe and Uriarte managed to beat their best times from Practice within just 10 minutes, coming close to the circuit record that was subsequently broken by the pacesetters.

Carpe quickly moved up to third place, displaying the same speed he had shown the previous day. Working alone, he maintained a strong pace throughout a single run that lasted until the chequered flag. Laying down a 1:55.141 on his fourth of 16 laps, he finished third, setting a personal best time at Motegi. Uriarte also worked alone; he initially led the session before dropping to fourth place, right behind his teammate. Following an identical strategy of a single stint from start to finish and 16 laps in total, he clocked his fastest lap on his penultimate attempt, demonstrating his speed on used tyres. The rookie finished fourth with a time of 1:55.156, improving upon his marker from the previous day by 2 tenths of a second.

In the afternoon, with the track surface at 43°C on Motegi’s new asphalt for 2026, the Moto3 field set a blistering pace during Q2.

Uriarte was the first to move into the top spot, mirroring his performance from the start of FP2 in the morning. Clocking times close to the circuit record, the Spaniard took provisional pole on two other occasions but was ultimately unable to hold onto the position. Notably, he worked alone during both runs, in an indication of his single-lap speed. Uriarte’s 1:54.617 was just half a tenth off pole and 5 tenths faster than his FP2 time, giving him a seventh front-row start of 2026. Carpe worked by himself initially, and provisionally placed fourth after his first run. After a change of tyres, he managed to latch onto a strong group, finally securing third place -just 75 thousandths off pole position and 30 thousandths behind his teammate. He earned his sixth front-row start of the season after seven laps at Motegi.

All in all, it was an excellent and virtually perfect Saturday for the Spanish duo from the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team, who managed to stay in the top four of the class throughout the day and practically the whole weekend. With the aim of rounding off the JapaneseGP in the best way, both Uriarte and Carpe will be aiming to fight for victory and a place on the podium tomorrow. Both will contest the 17-lap Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (local time).

Qualifying Results
1. David Almansa (KTM) | 1:54.572
2. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:54.617 (+0.045)
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:54.647 (+0.075)
4. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 1:54.854 (+0.282)
5. Matteo Bertelle (KTM) | 1:54.918 (+0.346)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“I’m happy with the position and with the weekend as a whole at Motegi. I think we’re doing a great job; we’re enjoying ourselves, and I feel comfortable and confident, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. You never know in this class, but I don’t think the lead group will be very big. This is a circuit where tyre wear shouldn’t be too severe towards the end of the race, so we’ll try to make the most of that and fight for the win right up to the chequered flag.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“We’re satisfied with the result. I didn’t feel quite as comfortable this morning, but we managed to fix those issues so we could tackle qualifying with confidence -which is what matters most. I felt really good in Q2, was fast and was very confident. We gave it our all. It’s a shame about the small crash; we might have been able to fight a bit harder for pole position without it. Overall, I feel strong; we put in several very fast laps, so I’m ready for whatever happens, eager to fight and to put in a strong performance.”