Jose Antonio Rueda earned pole position during Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Silverstone Circuit, in England. Riding his Red Bull KTM Ajo on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard topped the 26-rider field with a lap time of 2:09.449.
His teammate, Alvaro Carpe was the best of the rest with a 2:09.556, and Angel Piqueras claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 2:09.845 on his FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI KTM.
QualifyingResults moto3
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Rueda leads Red Bull KTM Ajo 1-2 with rookie Carpe taking maiden front row. Formation flying at Silverstone with Rueda in mighty form but don’t discount his rookie teammate.
The rain held off for a fully dry Moto3™ qualifying session, always entertaining without any interference from mother nature. It was vital to get a lap set early on and move into Q2 but at the very pointy end, it was the usual suspects who came good. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took his second pole of the season, heading home teammate Alvaro Carpe in the process.
The opening session was all about graduating through Q1 and the top four places were at a premium. Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) continued his strong form and despite leaving it late, topped the session ahead of Vicente Perez (LEVELUP-MTA), Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team), all of whom improved in a mesmerising final flurry of action. One rider who was unlucky was Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE), who after setting a fastest overall first sector, crashed at Turn 3 and despite being inside the top four places provisionally, was shuffled out, meaning he’ll start P19. Thankfully, he was OK after the fall.
All eyes were then on the graduations into Q2 but also the fastest riders so far in the weekend, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo), teammate Alvaro Carpe and the #22 of David Almansa (Leopard Racing). For Almansa, it looked like he’d not quite live up to the pace he showed throughout Friday as his first run left him down in P14, whilst Rueda was on provisional pole.
However, both were tied together on their final flying lap, with Almansa set to improve into the top ten whilst the #99 behind him benefitted from slipstream. The #22 leapt up the order to P5 but Championship leader Rueda went unchallenged to take a pole and head a first Ajo KTM 1-2 of the season with Carpe bagging a maiden front row in second. Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) rounds out the front row but had to battle, after an on-track scrap with title rival Rueda at the end of the lap. Almansa was fourth ahead of Joel Kelso, (LEVELUP-MTA) with the Australian’s front row streak ended; Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) maintains his 100% record of starting on the front two rows in P6.
The third row features the #58 of Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) with his third top ten of the season, with David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) in eighth and then Valentin Perrone, the highest of the graduates from Q1, repeating Lunetta’s feat of a third top ten qualifying in 2025. Completing the top ten, the only winner at Silverstone on the Moto3 grid, Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team).