The Moto3™ class kicked off Super Saturday in Motegi with Free Practice 2 early in the morning, followed later on by the qualifying at lunch time. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone showcased once again his fast-learner ability, with the young rookie locking another front row start in P2 in Motegi, just two weeks after his pole position in Misano. Teammate Jacob Roulstone showed solid pace, but he unfortunately had to overcome a crash in qualifying, and he eventually qualified in P22 on the grid ahead of Sunday’s race in Japan.
Grand Prix of Japan
Already qualified in Q2 after taking the 6th time on Friday, Valentin Perrone continued to enjoy his first time at the Mobility Resort Motegi track on Saturday. A positive FP2 in the morning gave him full confidence heading to the afternoon’s hectic battle for the 17th pole position at stake of 2025. In Q2, Valentin’s best of run 1 was a 1’55.350 after following fellow rookie Quiles, as he sat in P4 heading back to the pit box. Probably waiting for Jose Antonio Rueda in the pitlane, Valentin finally chose to exit for run 2 as just 2’30 minutes were remaining, meaning just one flying lap to go. He had now dropped to 6th. As he gave it all, Perrone brilliantly improved the two final sectors to fly into the first row in the very last seconds of the session with a 1’55.064, while championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda put on a late show too, to grab Motegi pole with a 1’54.826! Good job from Perrone, who will line up in 2nd on Sunday, with Rueda ahead, and Australian Joel Kelso in 3rd.
Jacob Roulstone faced Q1 on Saturday at Motegi, after narrowly missing out on the top 14 in Friday’s Practice. The Aussie arrived on qualifying day in a much better shape after a lot of background work done overnight to improve his package with the team, and the feeling in FP2 turned out to be much more positive with better sensations. Unfortunately, Q1 did not start quite well for Roulstone, as he crashed at T9 while the first two sectors were red. The number 12 found himself in a hurry to rush back to his bike to get back to it. The young Aussie managed to take his best lap time to a 1’57.019 in a last effort, but that was not enough to make the cut for Q2. He finished 8th of the session, meaning he will start the Motul Grand Prix of Japan from P22 on Sunday, as lights go out at 11:00 (UTC+9) for 17 laps.
VALENTIN PERRONE: "I am super happy to start from the first row, for our first time here in Japan. Jose Antonio Rueda is really fast, so it is important for us to start just behind him, so we can try following him, and continue learning. We will try to give our maximum, I think that we will battle hard in the last laps, so we will try to keep up with the pace! I really love this track, its fast corners and stop-and-go make it really fun to ride, so I’m excited for tomorrow’s race!"
JACOB ROULSTONE: "Unfortunately, I had a small crash in qualifying from attacking too much. We made a few changes, and I felt really good on the bike, I felt that I had a good chance to go to Q2, but sometimes it goes like this. The team and myself are happy that we pushed as much as we could, I feel that we made good steps from the morning, so we can be happy. Tomorrow, we will try to get up to pace as fast as we can, overtake as many riders as we can to try catching up the groups ahead. Let’s enjoy it!"
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 1'54.826
2. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.238
3. Joel Kelso (AUS), LEVELUP-MTA, +0.254
22. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.774 (Q1)
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - I. Ortola (SPA) - 1'54.761 - 150.6 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - D. Alonso (COL) - 1'55.675 - 149.4 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - I. Ortola (SPA) - 1'54.761 - 150.6 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - I. Ortola (SPA) - 224.5 km/h
