Great start for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rookie at the British Grand Prix. Rueda was fastest in FP1 and sixth in Practice.

Red Bull KTM Ajo made a great start to the United Kingdom Grand Prix on Friday. Alvaro Carpe, in his first ever contact with the Silverstone track, was the fastest in Practice to lead his first session in the Moto3 class. The rookie rider also set all-time track record for the first time in the category. Jose Antonio Rueda set the pace in FP1 with the best time and was sixth in Practice.

Unexpected sunshine at Silverstone meant Free Practice 1 presented perfect conditions. Rueda was consistent from start to finish, working alone to get to grips with the circuit. The current leader of the Moto3 class took the top spot midway through FP1, managing to further lower his lap time in the final stretch. The Spanish rider, with his best time of 2:10.120, set on his penultimate attempt of 13, was nearly 6 tenths clear of his nearest rival, and over 8 tenths faster than the rest of the field. Carpe was steady at the start of the session, aiming to understand a new track for him. He adapted well, and with 23 minutes remaining he even managed to took the lead on the timesheets. Setting his best time on his seventh lap of a total of 13, Carpe finished the first practice session in seventh place, with a best time of 2:11.418.

In the afternoon, the weather was even better at Silverstone, rising up to 16ºC and with much less humidity.  At the start of the session, Rueda focused on working on his race pace, imposing a typically solid series of laps. After a pit stop, the four-time race winner in 2025 took the lead at the start of his Time Attack. However, as he decided to work alone, he suffered from a lack of a tow and from the strong wind on the back straight. After putting in 14 laps, Rueda posted a 2:09.768, 2 tenths faster than his best time from last year, and was sixth. Carpe continued his speedy adaptation to an unfamiliar track improving more than two seconds his morning time. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie was one of the leading riders throughout the session, then delivered a final blow that gave him first place and the all-time track record. After 14 laps and with a time of 2:09.104, he was more than a tenth of a second quicker than the previous record, and headed an official Moto3 practice session for the first time.

Again, as it happened in Jerez, the Red Bull KTM Ajo led the two Friday sessions in Moto3. With the aim of continuing in this positive line, Alvaro Carpe and Jose Antonio Rueda will try to battle for Pole Position on Saturday in Qualifying from 1:50 PM (local time). Before that, they will compete in Free Practice 2 from 9:40 AM.

Practice Results
1. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:09.104
2. David Almansa (Honda) | 2:09.344 (+0.240)
3. Scott Ogden (KTM) | 2:09.505 (+0.401)
4. Joel Kelso (KTM) | 2:09.630 (+0.526)
5. Luca Lunetta (Honda) | 2:09.635 (+0.531)
6. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 2:09.768 (+0.664)

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today was a positive day. From the first run, we focused on working with Sunday’s race in mind. It’s going to be a very windy weekend, and that was already noticeable today. We wanted to continue working alone, as we have been doing so far, so it’s understandable that it took us a little longer to get the perfect lap, but we’re satisfied. We’re strong in terms of pace, so we’ll have to improve a little more tomorrow in all aspects to be as competitive as possible when it counts.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“I felt very good today. We’re improving step by step, and things have been going a little better since Le Mans. We’ll have to keep working like this, focusing a little more on race pace from Friday onwards so we can be a little more prepared for Sunday -especially for the final stretch. Considering it’s a new track for me, I think we can be competitive. The lap went perfectly, as I handled the slipstream and the wind very well, and we were also able to adjust several things since FP1, so my assessment of the day is really positive.”