The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders earn their second qualifying 1-2 of the season at the Dutch TT.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 had a stunning Saturday in Assen at the Dutch TT, as Jose Antonio Rueda secured his fourth Pole Position and Alvaro Carpe was just 0.041 seconds behind in second place after making the cut from Q1. The team achieved their second consecutive front row 1-2, following that achieved just seven days previously at Mugello.

Unlike on Friday, the second day at Assen saw dry asphalt and sunshine in the morning, with temperatures up to 8ºC warmer -despite the earlier time schedule for FP2 than for FP1.

Rueda initially focused on running a race simulation during the first part of the session, but also quickly placed himself inside the Top 10. With a competitive and consistent pace, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider took a little longer to move up among the leaders, but he did so in the final minutes, improving his best time lap after lap to finish third. The World Championship leader completed 17 laps and posted a 1:40.485, slightly slower than his time from Friday afternoon.

Carpe was very competitive from the start, putting his traffic issues from Friday afternoon behind him and immediately being among the three fastest riders on his second flying lap. Unlike his teammate, he spent the second part of the session working on worn tyres, demonstrating a strong pace through to the end. With his best time set at the start of FP2, Carpe ultimately finished fourth, just 0.035 seconds behind Rueda. With a 1:40.520 and 14 laps completed, the young Spanish rider shaved three tenths off his best time from Friday.

For Qualifying mode, the track was in optimal conditions, with temperatures rising to 32°C. Rueda emerged from the pits without hesitation, as always, and pushed hard. He had Quiles and Carpe behind him, and they moved into front row positions, while he remained in tenth place. After a trip to the pits, Carpe returned the favour and gave him an important tow. The World Championship leader was able to move into second place, and then Rueda put in his scorching Pole lap, besting Carpe by just 0.041 seconds. His 1:39.757, from 8 laps, put him just 0.054 seconds off the all-time track record, set last year by Collin Veijer.

It reversed the order of the one-two from the Italian Grand Prix, and secured Rueda’s fourth Pole Position of the season -the fifth of his World Championship career.

Carpe made his way out of Q1 with relative ease, leading the way early. Although three of his rivals passed him before he pitted, the Spaniard’s 1:40.911 earned him fourth place, almost half a second ahead of the rest of the field. In Q2, he snatched first place immediately after leaving the pits, with the help of Rueda’s tow. Carpe then assisted his teammate to secure the one-two finish. The class’s top rookie tried to take Pole, but the traffic on track left him without the possibility, despite being on pole position pace in the first two sectors. He will start second with a best time of 1:39.798, almost 8 tenths better than his previous best time from the weekend.

After one of the best Saturdays of the season, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team heads into the key day of the weekend with a double podium finish in mind. Jose Antonio Rueda and Alvaro Carpe will take part in the 20-lap Moto3 race on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (local time).

Qualifying Results
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:39.757
2. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:39.798 (+0.041)
3. David Almansa (Honda) | 1:39.823 (+0.066)
4. Taiyo Furusato (Honda) | 1:39.954 (+0.197)
5. Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM) | 1:40.093 (+0.336)

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Q2 went very well. I’m really happy to be on the front row once again and, of course, for this latest Pole Position. I want to congratulate Carpe once again, as we did a great job as a team. I hope to keep this up in the coming races and that we continue helping each other as we have so far. This morning we had a better feeling than yesterday, and that gave us a boost for the afternoon. We’ve also been finetuning our riding style as the sessions progress, so our pace is gradually improving. The race will be long, but I think we’re very well prepared to fight in the leading group. We’ll have to see what conditions we encounter, but we’re ready to do our best.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We had good teamwork today once again. We’re unbeatable with this method. It took us a while to get through to Q1, but we managed to do it, which was key to a good finish for the rest of the session. It was a slightly dangerous session due to traffic, but once we got into Q2, we knew things were going to go well. I’m very happy to be on the front row and very happy with how we turned the weekend around. I’m living a dream, and I hope it continues that way. Tomorrow we’ll try to put on a show and get a good result. We have good pace, we’ve prepared well for the race, so all that’s left is to enjoy it and give it our all to fight until the last lap.”