The Red Bull KTM Tech3 Moto3™ leaves Misano with good memories, after both Valentin Perrone and Jacob Roulstone launched together from the first row of the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera. As he had to fight his way back to the top after being hit by no one else but David Muñoz, of course, Valentin Perrone gave his all on Sunday as he believed until the end that he could win it, but a mistake in the final turns saw him finish in 6th. Jacob Roulstone finished just outside of the top 10, in 11th, but he can be proud of a nice bounce-back following a heartbreaking campaign in Catalunya just one week ago.
Grand Prix of San Marino and The Rimini Riviera
Launching from the pole position for the second time of his young Moto3™ career, it was Valentin Perrone who arrived at the first corner first, but it was Joel Kelso making it at the top of turn 1 exit. Valentin was the best placed to sneak on the inside of T2 to lead back, and same in T3, but eventually Joel Kelso was better placed and he led the way at the end of the first sector. The Australian led the front-4 having already made a small gap after a few laps, with Perrone sticking close in second behind the Australian. Unfortunately, Valentin dropped to 6th on lap 5 after a contact with David Muñoz, which forced Valentin to go a bit wide to stay on his wheels. He quickly re-focused to avoid completely losing the front group, although Kelso and Rueda had made a small gap of 0.8 seconds after 6 laps of racing. The 'Coyote' progressed to 5th through Piqueras, now chasing Adrian Fernandez just 0.167 seconds ahead. The Argentinean continued his ascension to 4th as he overcame Fernandez who had dropped, and that was P4, with next on, the battle for 3rd against fellow rookie Maximo Quiles. Valentin provided the effort on lap 11 with the fastest race lap with a 1’40.463, to be at the contact of Quiles. A great battle of the rookies for 3rd kept going, but that also allowed the chasing group behind led by Piqueras to comeback, and with 8 laps to the end, we had 7 contenders for the win. Valentin came on top of Quiles entering lap 14 as he had now joined the front-two still led by Rueda. Perrone then fired up to 2nd in a nice and clean inside move on Kelso, and we were now fully in the battle for the win, with 6 laps remaining! It was elbow-to-elbow entering lap 17, with Valentin closer than even to Rueda, promising a stunning finish, but the championship leader kept the advantage as just 3 laps remained. The battle for 1st was epic, it was a matter of who was willing to take the more risks and brake the latest, but watch out for Quiles patiently waiting in 3rd, and Kelso behind! Entering the final lap, Valentin had dropped to 4th, with Quiles now at the lead, closely followed by Rueda and Kelso, but Perrone did not want to let it go and he quickly responded to claim back a provisional podium seat. Unfortunately, a mistake by the rookie as he went wide in the last corners saw him drop to 6th. End result for Valentin will be 6th, but what an incredible race with epic battles for the young rookie! Absolutely outstanding performance for our own Valentin Perrone!
As he started from the first row for the first time in the category, Australian Jacob Roulstone dropped to 4th after the first sequences of turns as championship leader Rueda had taken a rocket start. Jacob lost a few more positions as the battles to stay at the front were tough and he seemed to face an early drop of tires, and he was in 8th after 3 laps, closing the leading group. As he settled into his race pace, Jacob clocked a solid 1’40.675 on lap 4, the fastest race lap at the time, as he put some pressure on Angel Piqueras, literally just 0.095 seconds ahead. He was then in 7th after 6 laps, still holding a consistent pace within the group. Halfway through, the Australian was still in 7th, but he had lost contact with the front group, now more than two seconds away from Fernandez. The gap to the chasing group grew, and Jacob was pretty much on his own 5 laps to the checkered flag, 4.9 seconds from Piqueras, with Guido Pini more than 3 seconds behind. From the back, David Muñoz has completely caught back the lost time, and he overtook Jacob in the first sector on lap 18, with the Aussie now in 8th, and then, we unfortunately saw him drop to 11th entering the final lap. P11 was the final position for the Australian, who will be a bit disappointed as he had hoped for more, starting from the first row.
Well, that’s it for Europe – for now – we will now be packing up everything as the overseas tour begins, with next on, the Grand Prix of Japan, on September 26-27-28.
VALENTIN PERRONE: "We did a very good race, with incredible battles with Rueda, who had an amazing pace, I enjoyed it a lot! In lap 5, Munoz touched me, I lost many positions and I had to give it all to come back to the first positions. However, in the last lap, I was trying to open the line a bit, but I could not stop the bike with the slipstream, I went wide, almost crashed and lost many positions. We can be happy with our pace anyway, it was incredible. We need to keep working, stay strong for the next races, and I am sure that our first victory will come soon."
JACOB ROULSTONE: "We felt good at the start, I tried to manage myself, but I quickly struggled with the tire drop, and I was a bit lost. I am a bit disappointed of course, but we take the positives from this weekend, and let's keep working."
HERVE PONCHARAL, Team Principal: "Huge disappointment to see Valentin Perrone only finish in P6 after the excellent weekend he had. He was up there in all practices, took the pole, and he did an incredible race. In the first laps, we had the same old David Muñoz, who did Muñoz things as usual, and Valentin lost positions. I thought it would be difficult, but Perrone brilliantly caught back the leaders, even leading the race. As often, the last lap was hectic, but Valentin made a big mistake, which is a shame. We know we have the potential to win a race with him, but we also need to remember he is just a rookie learning, and these mistakes are part of the process. When you put so much of your heart into a weekend like that, ending P6 this way is frustrating, but anyway, congratulations to Valentin for an amazing race. I was really happy for Jacob Roulstone following his qualifying, especially after the disappointment from the last few rounds. He made a good start, he was in the front group, but he struggled with the tire-drop quickly. He gave everything he had, but could not keep up with the front group. Still, I would like to congratulate him for a strong weekend!"
RACE RESULTS
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 33'48.906
2. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Aspar Team, +0.113
3. Adrian Fernandez (SPA), Leopard Racing, +0.117
6. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.936
11. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +10.993
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 295pts
2. Angel Piqueras (SPA), MT Helmets - MSI, 217pts
3. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Aspar Team, 188pts
8. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 108pts
15. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 47pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - D. Alonso (COL) - 1'40.184 - 151.8 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - V. Perrone (ARG) - 1'40.463 - 151.4 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - D. Alonso (COL) - 1'40.184 - 151.8 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - T. Suzuki (JPN) - 215.1 km/h
