Round 2 of the 2025 Moto3™ World Championship is well and truly underway as motorcycle racing finally returned to Termas de Río Hondo for the Grand Prix of Argentina for the first time since 2023. A special weekend awaited the Red Bull KTM Tech3 crew, with local new hero Valentin Perrone racing for the first time in Argentina, on the lands of his father. Alongside, there was Joel Esteban back with the team, filling in for Jacob Roulstone, still recovering. The two boys managed to both qualify directly to Q2, with Perrone finishing 4th of Practice, and Esteban 12th.
Grand Prix of Argentina
After making his Grand Prix debuts in Thailand two weeks ago, another important weekend awaited the young 73 on his home turf in Argentina. Following an intense week with local media, the rookie finally hit the track on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 on a wet track following the rain overnight. As he discovered the Termas de Río Hondo circuit, Valentin rounded up the opening session of the weekend with the 11th time in 1’59.229 (+1.866), an encouraging result heading to the afternoon’s Practice. In the afternoon, the track had dried, although still no sign of sun, leaving better conditions for the young riders. Perrone appeared to feel at home in Termas, as he continued improving his lap times through the session. As just 5 minutes remained, Perrone sat in a provisional 3rd place with a best in 1’47.685. He could not improve, and a late improvement of David Almansa, fastest of the day, meant that Valentin finished with an impressive 4th position, to qualify directly to Q2!
After his 9th place on the opening round in Thailand which brought the team its first points of 2025, Joel Esteban was also part of the Argentinian adventure with Red Bull KTM Tech3, with Jacob Roulstone still recovering from his neck injury. In the tricky conditions of Friday morning, the Spaniard sat in 6th with a best in 1'58.260 after 13 laps completed. In the afternoon, the young 78 saw his feeling get even better, and a best lap in 1’48.223 got him a direct Q2 ticket alongside teammate Perrone, as he finished 12th of the session. Strong day 1 for our Red Bull KTM Tech3 boys, both qualified for the final qualifying stage of the Grand Prix of Argentina. They’ll be back on Saturday morning at 8:40 local time (UTC-3) with Free Practice 2, followed later on by the Q2 at 13:15. Can local hero Valentin Perrone qualify in the front rows for his home GP? We’ll find out very soon.
VALENTIN PERRONE: "I am happy about this first day, I felt really good and comfortable on the bike in these track conditions, so I was able to start pushing earlier in the sessions. We have our first direct Q2 ticket, in Argentina, so let's try continuing like this on Saturday, and give our best in qualifying."
JOEL ESTEBAN: "The track was a bit wet, and very dirty this morning, but I felt very good on the bike, and I enjoy this track a lot! Lap after lap, I could improve and our feeling was getting stronger and stronger. In the afternoon's Practice, the feeling was good too, although we know that we can improve on the time attacks. We will study everything with the team tonight, try to understand how we can improve in the sectors where we lacked some confidence today, and hopefully tomorrow we can qualify well."
DAY 1 PRACTICE SESSION
1. David Almansa (SPA), Leopard Racing, 1'46.981
2. Alvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +0.364
3. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +0.470
4. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.704
12. Joel Esteban (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.242
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - D. Almansa (SPA) - 1'46.981 - 161.7 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2022 - A. Migno (ITA) - 1'48.834 - 158.9 km/h
Best Pole: 2022 - S. Garcia (SPA) - 1'48.429 - 159.5 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - A. Carpe (SPA) - 244.3 km/h
