Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo Valentín Perrone and Rico Salmela were in the thick of the fight for the podium over the course of a breathless Grand Prix of Brazil at the Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia this weekend – Round Two of the 2026 Moto3™ World Championship.
Grand Prix of Brazil
After lining up on the front row of the grid around the 3.835km, 14-turn circuit, Perrone was unlucky not to add to his trophy count this season in Sunday’s two-part race.
The series sophomore ultimately crossed the finish line seventh, right in the wheel tracks of Tech3 rookie Salmela, who showed significant improvement in his second Moto3 appearance as he confidently took on the front-runners and scored his first championship points.
Practice
Both riders ventured straight out on-track to explore the tricky conditions in a wet FP1, tallying 47 laps between them. Posting his quickest effort on his final flyer, Perrone wound up 11th, with Moto3 rookie Salmela slotting into 18th.
Practice proved to be a significantly drier affair and Salmela turned heads by setting the fifth-quickest time, barely two tenths adrift of the benchmark. After twice topping the timesheets during the 35-minute session – shortened due to weather-related delays – Perrone joined his Tech3 team-mate in progressing directly to Q2 in 13th.
Qualifying
Postponed until later in the day due to a track surface issue, Q2 was interrupted by an early red flag prompted by several crashes. When the 15-minute session resumed, it did so against the backdrop of a fading sun, adding another element into the mix.
Mastering the challenge, Perrone sprang to the head of the order just before the halfway stage, and remained firmly up at the sharp end, capturing a superb second on the grid - a mere two tenths shy of a third career pole with KTM. Similarly shining in only his second Moto3 Qualifying session, Finland’s Salmela secured ninth spot in the high-calibre, 25-strong field.
Race
On a fully dry track, Perrone maintained position at the start before swiftly snatching first place from pole-sitter and fellow KTM rider, Joel Esteban, into Turn Four. After briefly conceding the advantage, the Argentinian was running comfortably in the front pack, before finding himself compromised by a high-side for Esteban directly ahead of him.
Despite artfully avoiding becoming collateral damage in his rival’s mistake, the delay meant he lost touch with the leaders, and by the time Perrone had recovered third place from Marco Morelli, the 18-year-old was three seconds behind the leading pair.
The red flags flew on lap 15 due to a crash further down the order, and at the five-lap re-start, Perrone was once again right in the mix. After being shuffled down the order to ninth, the #73 rider fought his way back to seventh at the chequered flag, a single tenth-of-a-second behind stablemate Salmela in sixth.
That marked an eight-place improvement for the young Finn, who continues to impress in his maiden Moto3 campaign. From ninth on the grid, Salmela slipped to 14th on the opening tour, but was back into the top ten by lap four and embroiled in a frenetic midfield fight.
Taking advantage of a squabble ahead, the #27 rider leapt up to seventh as he broke into the same pack as his team-mate, before advancing another spot to sixth when David Almansa fell from the lead just past the midway point.
Following the red flag, Salmela made a bright re-start to gain ground and settle into the scrap for the podium places, engaging in lively duels with Morelli, Adrián Fernandez, Veda Pratama and Guido Pini on his way to scoring his first championship points.
Valentin Perrone: "It was a difficult race. In the first part, I lost time when Esteban crashed in front of me, which allowed Almansa and [Máximo] Quiles to pull away. Then with the red flag, I moved up to second, but I got overtaken and went a bit to the outside. I couldn’t get a quick exit from the corner, which allowed several other riders to pass me in the slipstream. With the fast pace they were setting, I struggled to fight back from there but P7 is still good points and we have more races ahead, so I will learn from this and move on.”
Rico Salmela: "Yesterday wasn’t the easiest day. I had to set my times alone in Qualifying, but I knew I had good speed, and today it was an enjoyable race. I tried to manage the tyres early on, and when other riders’ tyres began to drop off, mine still felt good, which enabled me to make up some positions before the red flag. I struggled a bit with the front tyre after the re-start, but compared to Thailand, we’ve made good progress and it’s important that we continue in this way. If we do that, the results will come.”
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Joel Esteban (SPA), LEVEL UP - MTA, 1'26.241
2. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.206
3. Hakim Danish (MAL), AEON Credit - MT Helmets - MSI, +0.207
9. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.749
RACE RESULTS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 7'19.821
2. Marco Morelli (ARG), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, +0.143
3. Veda Pratama (INA), Honda Team Asia, +1.650
6. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.842
7. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.949
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 45 pts
2. Marco Morelli (ARG), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 28 pts
3. Veda Pratama (INA), Honda Team Asia, 27 pts
6. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 25 pts
11. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 10 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2026 - J. Esteban (SPA) - 1'26.241, 160.0 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2026 - M. Morelli (ARG) - 1'26.252, 160.0
Best Pole: 2026 - J. Esteban (SPA) - 1'26.241, 160.0 km/h
Top Speed: 2026 - J. Kelso (AUS) - 242.6 km/h
