The Red Bull KTM Tech3 Moto3™ crew headed south of Europe this week for the GoPro Grand Prix of Aragón, kicking off a packed-action June month, with next on later the Italian Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix. Both Red Bull KTM Tech3 boys Jacob Roulstone and Valentin Perrone successfully placed their KTMs in the top 14 after Practice, with Jacob taking the 7th time on Friday afternoon, and teammate Valentin finishing in P11.
Grand Prix of Aragon
Finally back under the sun of Aragón desert after two chilly rounds in Le Mans and Silverstone, Jacob Roulstone arrived into this new race week with a lot of enthusiasm, with Aragón almost feeling like home for the Australian, living in Girona during the championship season. In Free Practice 1, it became clear quite quickly that the tyre drop would be the challenge of the weekend, all linked together with the expected high heat of the weekend, so the goal straight away this morning was to work acknowledging that. After finishing 21st of the opening session, Jacob Roulstone brilliantly managed a strong late lap in 1'58.150 at the end of the Practice, one that gave him the 7th place and a direct ticket to Q2. First target of the weekend achieved for the number 12, who will look forward to tomorrow to keep making progress, and hopefully place well his KTM on the grid.
‘El Coyote’ Valentin Perrone enjoyed his first Moto3™ laps on the incredibly beautiful 5.078km layout of Aragón in Free Practice 1. As he looked to adapt to the track, the young Argentinian appeared to encounter good sensations this morning on his KTM, finishing the opening session in 15th, 2 seconds from the fastest. The heat got more intense at lunch time for the 35-minute Practice session, and we saw Valentin continue making improvements on his riding. A 1’58.468 in the first laps saw him in the provisional top 3 for a while. With just 5 minutes left on the clock, times went down for all riders with everyone making the effort to try securing the top 14, but through the late yellow flags, Valentin improved his fastest lap to a 1’58.461 which eventually saw him finish in 11th, thus securing Q2 for qualifying day. Good day at the office for the young Moto3™ rookie! The action will be back tomorrow morning with Free Practice 2 at 8:40 LT (UTC+2)!
JACOB ROULSTONE: "Quite happy to finish 7th overall! The morning’s session was not easy because we only had one set of tyres. After 5 laps, I had no grip, so it was not easy. In the afternoon, we felt much better and I could do a proper fast lap towards the end, which was enough to do the job today. However, I am still lacking a bit of pace, but I am confident that we can keep improving tomorrow morning in FP2 before qualifying."
VALENTIN PERRONE: "I am happy with our Practice result! We made many mistakes this afternoon, without which I could have finished a bit higher, but anyway, we are into Q2, and the pace was really positive for us today. I am feeling well, I really enjoy this track, so let’s see what we can do in Q2 tomorrow. We’ll have FP2 to prepare well for it, let’s give it all!"
PRACTICE SESSION RESULTS
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 1'57.338
2. David Muñoz (SPA), Dynavolt IntactGP, +0.078
3. D. Almanza (SPA), Leopard Racing, +0.301
7. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.812
11. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.123
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - D. Alonso (COL) - 1'57.052 - 156.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2022 - D. Oncu (TUR) - 1'57.896 - 155.0 km/h
Best Pole: 2018 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'57.066 - 156.1 km/h
Top Speed: 2020 - J. Masia (SPA) - 248.5 km/h
