The Spanish rider narrowly misses out on the podium after a great race. Uriarte finishes 11th in his latest appearance for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Red Bull KTM Ajo earned important points at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as Alvaro Carpe placed fourth and Brian Uriarte eleventh on their first visit to the South American country. The former was just 1 tenth of a second off the rostrum, with his teammate able to earn good points for the second consecutive round.

Although the sky was partly overcast, the conditions for the Moto3 race were positive, with track temperatures reaching 42°C and air temperatures of 28°C, along with relatively lower humidity than during the rest of the weekend.

Carpe was 10th on the starting grid, and the young Spanish rider made a good start, managing to recover positions and stay at the front of the race. In just three laps, the Red Bull KTM Ajo man moved into the Top 5, but his podium challenge was hindered by a heavy crash for another rider in the middle of the pack that split the leading group on Lap 6. Battling for third place alongside ten other competitors, on Lap 14 he took the lead of that group for the first time.
After one of the two leading riders crashed, Carpe was in a strong position to place on the rostrum, but a red flag with nine laps remaining closed things up in the field. Upon the restart, with only five laps remaining, he made several overtakes to maintain his position in the front three. Unfortunately, he could then only watch as Maximo Quiles and Marco Morelli pulled away again, and was then caught and passed by Veda Pratama. Just a tenth of a second denied him a podium. His second consecutive fourth place finish also keeps him fourth in the overall standings, with 26 points.

From 6th on the grid, Uriarte dropped to twelfth after two laps. Fortunately for him, the leading group remained compact, allowing him to stay firmly in contention near the front. After the crash that split the leading group, he gained a position, keeping him just outside the Top 10. Following the red flag, the restart favoured the Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie, as he came out fighting to move into ninth and try to close the gap to the podium spots. However, the pace was incredibly high, leaving Uriarte unable to cut the distance. He ultimately missed out on a Top 10 finish by a mere 0.080 tenths, placing eleventh. He now has 14 points, putting him in eighth position in the overall standings.

In conclusion, it was a positive weekend for Red Bull KTM Ajo, with both riders once again finishing in the points to take their total to 40 points and move into second place in the team standings. The second half of this first double-header of the year will take place next week at the Circuit of the Americas, with the US Grand Prix on March 27-29th.

Race 2 Results
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 32:14.186
2. Marco Morelli (KTM) | +0.143
3. Veda Pratama (Honda) | +1.650
4. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +1.741
5. Guido Pini (Honda) | +1.786
11. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +3.158

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2026
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 45 points
2. Marco Morelli (KTM) | 28 points
3. Veda Pratama (Honda) | 27 points
4. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 26 points
5. David Almansa (KTM) | 25 points
8. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 14 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2026
1. CFMOTO Aspar Team | 73 points
2. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 40 points
3. Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 35 points
4. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 31 points
5. Leopard Racing | 29 points  

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“After this crazy and unpredictable weekend, we can be satisfied with getting both riders in the points today. We were a little bit unfortunate with the red flag, as both riders were starting to pick the pace up and gain places before that, but these things happen. Alvaro finally found his way during Qualifying and during the race after a difficult weekend, so I’m very proud of how he faced a pressure situation. Brian had a good weekend, starting very fast in difficult conditions on Friday, and he also had a good Q2 yesterday and managed to take some important points today. It gives him more experience that will be very useful during the coming race weekends.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“I’m happy with the final result after a difficult weekend. During the first part of the race, I was very optimistic, as I managed the tyres well and saw that I could gain something extra compared to the other riders. The red flag didn’t work out well for us. For the restart, we all started on the soft tyre, and I didn’t feel completely comfortable with it. However, the overall assessment of the weekend is very positive, as we struggled to find speed here in Brazil, so we have to consider this fourth place a very good result.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“It was a good Sunday to finish off a full weekend in Brazil. Our start wasn’t the best, so we had to fight our way back a bit. I was able to recover positions, but the red flag came out just when we were feeling at our most comfortable on the track. For the second start, we changed tyres and it took us a while to regain our previous speed, so we focused on securing valuable points to keep adding to our tally, which is also vital for building confidence and approaching the next races with more peace of mind.”