The Moto3™ class delivered another spectacular show at the Circuit of the Americas for Round 3 of the 2026 season, with Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentín Perrone and Rico Salmela both fighting at the front in a dramatic race that went down to the very last corner.
Grand Prix of The United States
Practice
In Friday’s Practice, Salmela showed steady pace throughout the session, while Perrone found himself pushed down the order in the closing minutes - dropping as low as 15th with under three minutes remaining.
With Salmela slipping to 13th, both riders were under pressure heading into their final attempts. Delivering when it mattered most, Perrone produced a strong lap to jump up to 5th, while Salmela secured P8, ensuring both Tech3 riders progressed directly to Q2.
Qualifying
Perrone once again demonstrated his ability to perform under pressure. Sitting in 8th with two laps to go in Q2, the Argentine made the most of his final flying lap to climb up to an impressive 3rd on the grid. Salmela eventually qualified in 9th, ready to take on the challenge from the middle of the pack in Sunday’s race.
Race
As the lights went out on Sunday, Perrone immediately jumped into 2nd place, showing strong early pace as he chased down the race leader. Salmela also gained a position early but was quickly drawn into a tight midfield battle, dropping to 13th before beginning his recovery.
Perrone soon challenged for the lead, executing a perfectly timed overtake for P1 and demonstrating his front-running speed. However, the close nature of Moto3 racing saw him shuffled back to fourth and then fifth within a lap as the leading group remained tightly packed.
Meanwhile, Salmela steadily fought through the field, breaking into the top 10 as incidents ahead created opportunities. A crash near Perrone reshuffled positions, allowing Salmela to climb as high as sixth - gaining positions both from the incident and his own overtakes.
In the final phase, the leading group engaged in an intense battle, constantly exchanging positions. Perrone pulled off a bold double overtake to move into second in the four-rider fight.
On the final lap, a mistake from the leader opened the door, and Perrone seized the lead with a decisive move. However, after briefly losing and regaining positions, a final-corner error dropped him from second to fourth. Salmela crossed the line in 7th after a strong and determined ride through the field, before a post-race penalty for Adrian Cruces promoted the Tech3 rider to 6th.
Valentin Perrone: "It was a good weekend in Austin. Friday was a bit difficult as I didn’t feel completely comfortable on the bike, but on Saturday I improved a lot by following the fast riders and I finished in P3.
“In the race, I had a good start and stayed in the front group, managing the tyres and waiting for my moment. I felt strong and pushed in the final laps to fight for the win. I battled with Carpe on the last lap, and in the final corner I braked late and closed the line, but we touched, and I had to pick the bike up to avoid a crash.
“It’s not the result I wanted, but it was still a great race. We deserved the win, but this is racing - sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. Thank you to my team for their hard work - now we focus on the next round.”
Rico Salmela: "We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Practice was quite challenging, but we focused on doing our own work and building throughout the week. We had a decent starting position, but at the beginning of the race I didn’t quite have the pace to stay with the front group. Towards the end, though, I started to feel good on the used tyres and knew I had a bit more to give.
“It was a bit tricky in the group, especially in the final laps, where things always get intense, so I just focused on staying consistent and doing my best. Overall, it wasn’t a bad result and I’m quite happy. There’s still work to do, but we can take a lot of positives from this weekend."
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Alvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 2'12.107
2. Casey O'Gorman (IRL), SIC58 Squadra Corse, +0.412
3. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.419
9. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.898
RACE RESULTS
1. Guido Pini (ITA), Leopard Racing, 31'20.489
2. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team, +0.056
3. Alvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +0.254
4. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.445
6. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +15.075
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team, 65 pts
2. Alvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 42 pts
3. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 38 pts
10. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 20 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2026 - A. Carpe (SPA) - 2'12.107, 150.2 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - M. Bertelle (ITA) - 2'13.939, 148.1 km/h
Best Pole: 2026 - A. Carpe (SPA) - 2'12.107, 150.2 km/h
Top Speed: 2026 - V. Pratama (INA) - 241.3 km/h
