The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders get a Friday lift at Motegi, placing just a tenth of a second off the day’s fastest time.

Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe made a good start to the Japanese Grand Prix, despite it being a first appearance at Motegi for the former. Uriarte showed great progress throughout the day, moving from 19th place in the morning to third in the afternoon, and Carpe repeated fourth place in both sessions. Both riders come closest to the top spot in the afternoon run: Within 84 and 113 thousandths of a second, respectively.

The Grand Prix got off to a somewhat uncertain start, with cloudy skies and cool early-morning temperatures. With a track temperature of 21°C, the Moto3 field took to the track for Free Practice 1 -the opening session of the Japanese GP.

Carpe enjoyed a strong start to the weekend, heading out confidently and working alongside David Muñoz on the initial run. They held the top two spots on the timesheets for much of the session, as the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider gradually built up his pace. He returned to the pits just as the session entered its final fifteen minutes, coinciding with the moment the flags came out to signal rain. Following a few crashes caused by the track conditions, the Moto3 riders came back in, but Carpe was able to head back out for the closing moments; while he couldn’t improve his lap time, he secured third place overall with a best lap of 1:55.909, after completing 14 laps. It was a different story for Uriarte, who opted to ride in a group to learn the Japanese circuit. His session consisted of two distinct runs -somewhat affected by the brief spell of rain- and the rookie put in a total of 13 laps. He posted a best time of 1:56.786, placing him 19th.

In Practice, the skies were overcast again, albeit with a rise to 35°C for the track temperature.

Uriarte broke into the Top 14 during Practice, and was among the 10 fastest riders early on. Gaining a better understanding of the track, he reached the time attack phase with a comfortable margin relative to the cut-off for Q2, allowing him to wait until the final minutes to secure his spot. He even climbed to the top spot briefly, before ultimately finishing third. Just 84 thousandths off the fastest rider, Uriarte clocked a 1:55.364, shaving 1.4 seconds off his morning time. He put in 16 laps of Motegi during the session. Carpe showed great consistency, remaining firmly within the Top 5 throughout his first stint. Shortly before the final fifteen minutes of the session, he strung together two consecutive fast laps to move into the provisional top spot for the afternoon -bettering his best time from 2025 at Motegi. After a pit stop, he began his time attack alone, but a big highside at Turn 8 in the closing moments put an end to his run. Fortunately, he escaped unhurt, finishing fourth with a best time of 1:55.393 after 14 laps. He was just a tenth of a second off the pacesetter.

In conclusion, it was a very satisfying Friday for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team, which has managed to perform very consistently with Alvaro Carpe and make huge progress throughout the day alongside Brian Uriarte, who was unfamiliar with the circuit until yesterday when he took part in the track walk. Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 pair will take part in Free Practice 2 at 8:40 a.m. (local time) on Saturday, before both riders enter Q2 at 1:10 p.m.

Practice Results
1. Marco Morelli (KTM) | 1:55.280
2. Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM) | 1:55.296 (+0.016)
3. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:55.364 (+0.084)
4. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:55.393 (+0.113)
5. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | 1:55.412 (+0.132)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“It was a pretty positive day, with a really good pace for us throughout. It’s a shame about the crash, but luckily I’m okay, so we’ll try to do even better tomorrow. I felt extremely confident right from the start, as the feeling was very positive, and the runs on my own went really well; we’re optimistic about the rest of the weekend. The highside was probably down to me pushing past the limits of my confidence, but now we know where those limits are, so we’ll fine-tune a few details for Saturday and go all-out again. I’m sure we can have a great weekend here.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“I’m very happy with how things went on this first day at Motegi. It took me a little while to get acclimatised this morning -both to the circuit and the conditions-but the feeling gradually improved, especially during Practice. I wanted to ride alone so I could focus on myself, and it really worked out great. I felt fast and comfortable, and the adaptation process was very positive overall; I’m very satisfied with this first day at a track that is one of the most unique on the calendar.”