The Red Bull KTM Tech3 Moto3™ squad kicked off a busy day at MotorLand with Jacob Roulstone and Valentin Perrone facing qualifying for the GoPro Grand Prix of Aragón. Once again, the heat of the desert was an extra challenge that all riders had to face. Still, Jacob Roulstone did good, qualifying in 6th on the grid, his best season’s grid position, and teammate Valentin Perrone will start from P15.
Grand Prix of Aragon
Already qualified for Q2 after his 7th place in Practice, Jacob Roulstone from Red Bull KTM Tech3 arrived on Saturday without the pressure of having to face the pre-qualifying stage. That allowed the young Australian to focus on the race preparation during FP2 this morning, and dedicate his 19 laps to fine-tuning his bike and riding. Sooner than later had already come the time for the pole position. Eager to do well, Jacob started with a 1’57.563 in his first run which had him in a provisional 8th place on the grid at pit return. For the second and final run, the Aussie chose his group, led by Alvaro Carpe as he aimed to work behind the young rookie. Jacob eventually finished his qualifying with a best lap in 1’56.993, the 6th time, meaning that he will close the 2nd row on the grid on Sunday ahead of the Moto3™ race.
Rookie Valentin Perrone continued his progression and the learning in the morning’s FP2, wrapping up the last 30 min of free track time in P20. Also already qualified in Q2 following a strong Friday, the young Argentinian could find the time to prepare better for the upcoming qualifying shootout. As the 18 riders joined the track at 13:15 for Q2, Valentin started with a best lap in 1’57.896 that had him in 12th, and chose to remain on track for one more lap while everyone else returned to their pit boxes. In the second run, Valentin could not really benefit from a group's pace, and he did not manage to improve his time. That means his earlier lap remained his best, and he will start the GoPro Grand Prix of Aragon from P15, when lights go out at 11:00 (UTC+2) for 17 laps!
JACOB ROULSTONE: "Happy with our qualifying today! I have been feeling really fast on my lap pace all weekend, so I am really happy that we could turn it into a good position on the grid. We took the right strategy, positioned ourselves well, so everything worked out well. I feel like we still have a lot of work to do tonight, because in the morning FP2, I was not feeling well on the race pace, but I am confident that we can make those twists overnight. Anyway, big thanks to the team for the work done, and let's try to take a good start tomorrow and stick with the front group."
VALENTIN PERRONE: "Today was not our best qualifying for sure, I struggled a bit in the management of the session. When we were in the pit box, everyone else was out on track pushing, and then by the time I returned for run 2, all riders cut their efforts. I ended up doing my lap on my own, which was not bad, but of course we could have done better with a group. We are feeling good anyway, but tomorrow the tire drop is expected to be big, so let's see how we will manage it!"
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 1'56.361
2. Luca Lunetta (ITA), SIC58 Squadra Corse, +0.026
3. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team, +0.144
6. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.632
15. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.535
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - J. Rueda (SPA) - 1'56.361 - 157.0 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2022 - D. Oncu (TUR) - 1'57.896 - 155.0 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - J. Rueda (SPA) - 1'56.361 - 157.0 km/h
Top Speed: 2020 - J. Masia (SPA) - 248.5 km/h
