The rain did not spare the Red Bull KTM Tech3 Moto3™ squad on Saturday, as Valentin Perrone and Jacob Roulstone rode all sessions in the wet. Track conditions were tricky for all, but they both gave everything they could through the rain. Rookie Perrone qualified in 15th on the grid, and Roulstone in 18th.
Grand Prix of Germany
Track conditions did not make things easy at all for our rookie Valentin Perrone who continued his Sachsenring discovery in the wet on Saturday. The young Argentinian struggled to find his way through the 13 corners on Friday, and the difficulty rose by one level on Saturday under the rain. After Free Practice 2 spent in the wet, Valentin took the 20th time in preparation for the afternoon qualifying. Braving the rain in Q1, Valentin started with an early 1’36.745 which powered him to the provisional top 4. Feeling right with the pace and the feeling in the wet, the young Argentinian further progressed to a 1’36.613 to the provisional top, and then a final effort saw him clock a 1’35.675. With a late improvement of Cormac Buchanan to first, Valentin finished 2nd and joined teammate Roulstone in Q2. All riders launched for the fight for the pole, but unfortunately, an incident at Turn 8 forced race direction to show the red flag, with the air-fence needing to be re-deployed. Once everything was back in order, Q2 could commence. That delay obliged most riders to do one sole run, and with less than 3 minutes to go, Valentin clocked in his fastest lap with a 1’36.006. He gave his best to try improving, but that was it for the day. He finished with the 15th time. As tomorrow’s race is expected to be a try, the young Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider will focus on making a good start from row 5, to try to catch the front group, and hopefully, go from there!
Already qualified in Q2 after showing good form on Friday, Jacob Roulstone took advantage of Free Practice 2 to prepare in the wet conditions ahead of the afternoon’s key Q2. 18 laps in the rain, and the Aussie was next headed for Q2 at 13:15 local time, joined by teammate Valentin Perrone from Q1. After the red flag early in Q2, the fight for the pole could finally start. Jacob struggled a bit with the fast laps in the wet, although he admitted having made some progress from the last time he rode under the rain. His last lap in 1'36.502 was his fastest, and he qualified in 18th on the grid ahead of the German Grand Prix, set to start at 11:00 local time (UTC+2) on Sunday.
VALENTIN PERRONE: "Happy with the feeling, less with the result. We have improved today, we are feeling more confident, although we have a few things to improve, both on myself and one the bike. I did enjoy the track today! I think that the race will be dry tomorrow, so we know we have to make a strong start to try gaining as many positions as possible, and then we will see how it goes. Looking forward to it anyway!"
JACOB ROULSTONE: "It is still obvious that I am struggling in the wet. Although I am feeling confident, I am just not able yet to put that forward on the bike. It is another step forward from the last wet session we had though, but I am still disappointed with today. Hoping we will have a dry race tomorrow, and we will give our best to gain positions."
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Scott Ogden (GBR), CIP Green Power, 1'35.001
2. David Almansa (SPA), Leopard Racing, +0.042
3. Guido Pini (ITA), Dynavolt Intact GP, +0.134
15. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.005
18. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.510
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - D. Muñoz (SPA)- 1'24.767 - 155.9 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - I. Ortola (SPA) - 1'25.467 - 154.6 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - C. Veijer (NED) - 1'24.885 - 155.6 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - X. Zurutuza (SPA) - 219.9 km/h
