The Red Bull KTM Tech3 Moto3™ squad is leaving Portugal with mixed feelings! Unfortunately, Valentin Perrone ended the Portimao adventure with a DNF despite showing promising pace all weekend long. On the other side of the garage, Joel Esteban, replacing Jacob Roulstone, delivered a stunning performance in Portimao filled with battles and overtakes, to finish at the doors of the podium, with a brilliant 4th place.
Grand Prix of Portugal
Spaniard Joel Esteban made his presence on track known on Sunday during the Moto3™ race! As lights were out at 14:30 local time, Esteban took an aggressive start to 4th in the first turns, and then he was through Scott Ogden to 3rd. At the front, poleman Joel Kelso had kept his advantage, leading Maximo Quiles. Angel Piqueras moved past Joel on lap 2, who dropped to 4th, but the young boy was hungry for a maiden podium in the category. The battle for 3rd was truly on, and both Esteban and Piqueras headed to lap 3 elbow to elbow. Joel moved up to 2nd in no time over Quiles, but he was overtaken shortly after, and lost again 2 positions. That was just 4/5 laps of intense and crazy racing! What else did we have in store? The battles were all over the places within the front group, which had allowed Kelso to gain a small advantage on the chasing group at the front. However, we started seeing Joel Esteban experience a first tire drop, and he progressively lost positions, until he found himself down to P12 on lap 8. While he managed the drop, his opponents also experienced a performance loss, but by then, Esteban had gained the confidence needed to get back at it! 5 laps to the end, Joel had made a solid comeback to the top 5, and just like that, he was in the game again for the podium! Positions kept moving around, promising hectic battles for the final laps. Esteban was showing his teeth with clean and aggressive overtakes as he battled hard for 4th against Alvaro Carpe. Eventually, that allowed Angel Piqueras to secure 3rd, with Joel crossing the finish line in 4th!
Valentin Perrone did not have an ideal start from P10 on the grid, as we saw him drop 2 positions in the opening lap, and one more on lap 3 as he entered lap 4 in 13th. The Argentinian unfortunately crashed at lap 4 as he was trying to regain the lost positions. He rejoined the race, but a technical issue forced him to retire from the race. Disappointing weekend for the rookie who had other plans, but luckily, there is one more round to try finishing the season on a good note. We will now head to Valencia for the final round of the season, on November 14-15-16! Let's make this one count, team!
JOEL ESTEBAN: "I am so happy with the race!!! It was a really difficult race, because Joel Kelso put some solid pace during the first laps. I was quite aggressive at the start, but when the tires started to drop, I did not have a great feeling because the stability on the bike was bad. Then I made contact with another rider, I went wide a few times, so I lost the contact with my group. But when all the front group saw their tires drop, I felt confident, I really was feeling good on the bike, so I just kept pushing and I went for it! I am so happy with P4!"
VALENTIN PERRONE: "Our start was not great, but then we settled a bit more and we could overtake a few riders. However, while I was pushing to try catching up to the front group, I released the brakes too late, and I crashed. I re-joined the race, but then I had a technical issue so I had to retire. Anyway, we'll try to turn things around in Valencia, and hopefully finish the season well."
HERVE PONCHARAL, Team Principal: "Mixed feelings for the Moto3 team leaving Portimao! Joel Esteban, as a substitute rider, did an incredible job all weekend long. In addition to being a charming person who brought great vibes into the garage, and an incredible team player, he has been amazing on track this weekend. The start of his race was impressive, he was really aggressive, and the way he closed the gap after dropping to 12th was so good. He was in the fight for the podium until the end with some hot and agressive, but clean, overtakes on riders like Piqueras and Carpe, which is impressive. He finished 0.3 seconds from the podium, with an excellent P4, so we would like to thank him for replacing Jacob this weekend. I really hope that he can find a good ride in 2026, because he really deserves it. On the other hand, we had high expectations for Valentin Perrone. He felt like he finally had his feeling from mid-August back, so we were expecting a battle for the top 5 at least. His start was not good, and then he crashed while trying to recover. Let's take the positive, he was fast, the feeling was good, and we have one more round to defend his top 10 position in the championship, which would be a great way to end his rookie season!"
RACE RESULTS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Aspar Team, 34'05.182
2. Angel Piqueras (SPA), MT Helmets - MSI, +1.663
3. Taiyo Furusato (JPN), Honda Team Asia, +2.886
4. Joel Esteban (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +3.243
DNF. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 13 laps
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 365pts
2. Angel Piqueras (SPA), MT Helmets - MSI, 271pts
3. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Aspar Team, 263pts
10. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 128pts
16. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 61pts
19. Joel Esteban (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 33 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - J. Rueda (SPA) - 1'46.379 - 155.3 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - A. Piqueras (SPA) - 1'46.881 - 154.6 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - J. Rueda (SPA) - 1'46.379 - 155.3 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - I. Ortola (SPA) - 251.7 km/h
