The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rookie enjoys an excellent day at the French Grand Prix. Alvaro Carpe tops FP1 but suffers a crash in the afternoon session and will go through Q1.

Brian Uriarte had an excellent Friday at the French Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rookie achieved his best Practice result of the season so far, finishing fifth, after placing tenth in Free Practice 1 in the morning. Alvaro Carpe had a strange day, as he topped FP1 but could only manage 17th in the afternoon session, suffering a minor crash early on.

There were favourable weather conditions for the start of the French Grand Prix weekend, with the sun shining over Le Mans. Although there was a slight chill in the morning, Moto3 FP1 took place amidst 15°C track temperatures and 68% humidity.

Carpe began Friday well, taking to the track alongside David Muñoz and Valentin Perrone. All three had a great first stint, and they established the Top 3 early on. After a pit stop, Carpe continued to improve his times, demonstrating a promising level of consistency. Despite dropping to fifth place in the closing minutes, the Spaniard regained the top spot on his final flying lap, clocking a 1:41.252 to head his third session of the season. In total, he rode 15 laps in FP1. Uriarte went out on track alone with the aim of accumulating kilometres, but he was absorbed by the group involving his teammate, which helped him find good reference points. After an initial period of assimilation, the rookie stepped up his pace in the final moments, reaching the Top 10 on his 15th of 18 laps, finishing just five tenths of a second off Carpe with a time of 1:41.791.

In the afternoon, Moto3 Practice took place in even better conditions than the morning, as track temperatures rose to 20°C and humidity reached 44%. Nevertheless, the start of the session was somewhat eventful for the lower cylinder class riders.

One of those who suffered a crash was Carpe, who lost control of his bike at Turn 5. Fortunately, the Spaniard escaped unharmed and, after a pit stop, was able to get back on track. After that first run, he prepared for his Time Attack from fifth place on the timesheets, but was unable to improve his feeling after the crash, having to complete his flying laps alone. He dropped to 17th place after 12 laps in the session, with a best time of 1:41.134, and will have to go through Q1 on Saturday. Uriarte had an encouraging start to Practice, sticking in the Top 14 from his first flying lap and securing a direct route into Q2. After a tyre change, he went back out for the last ten minutes, and with four remaining he clocked a 1:40.598 that was eventually enough for fifth -his best Friday result so far in 2026. Just 3 tenths of a second behind the fastest rider, Uriarte completed 17 laps in total.

All in all, it was a mixed day for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team, which got off to a great start this morning but will have to wait until tomorrow’s Q1 to try and get both riders into the fight for Pole Position – a place Brian Uriarte is sure to be in after a very good Friday. The duo will compete in FP2 on Saturday, starting at 8:40 a.m. (local time). Following that, Carpe will take part in Q1 at 12:45 p.m., with Q2 following at 1:10 p.m. at Le Mans.

Practice Results
1. David Muñoz (KTM) | | 1:40.211
2. David Almansa (KTM) | 1:40.225 (+0.014)
3. Marco Morelli (KTM) | 1:40.296 (+0.085)
4. Hakim Danish (KTM) | 1:40.443 (+0.232)
5. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:40.598 (+0.387)
17. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 1:41.134 (+0.923)

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We started very well this morning. We felt comfortable riding on a cold track, so I was happy with Free Practice 1. Unfortunately, the crash in Practice hurt us a bit, despite us being strong to begin with in the afternoon. After we went back out, we couldn’t quite find the right feeling and the pace wasn’t what I had expected, so we’ll have to push hard tomorrow to get into Q2. We know where we need to improve, so we’ll be going for it.”

#51 BRIAN URIARTE

“This first day went very well. I’m very happy with the feeling we had, both this morning and then in Practice. We took a step forward in the Test and I think we took another one today, but we still have room for improvement. Now we have to think about Saturday and the weather conditions we might encounter. We’ll see if it’s possible to continue riding in the dry or if we’ll have to adapt to different circumstances.”