Red Bull KTM Tech3 showed promising speed throughout Round 5 of the 2026 Moto3™ season at Le Mans, with both Valentín Perrone and Rico Salmela looking on course for Top Ten finishes in Sunday’s challenging conditions.
Grand Prix of France
However, despite strong performances from both riders, incidents in a dramatic wet race prevented the team from collecting a strong haul of points.
Practice
The Moto3 squad arrived at Le Mans eager to take on the challenge of the Bugatti Circuit and aim for strong results in front of the team’s home crowd.
In Friday’s Practice, Perrone and Salmela worked through a competitive session at Le Mans, with both riders focused on securing a place inside the Top 14. Perrone delivered a solid performance to finish 10th, just 0.622 seconds off the fastest time, while Salmela ended the session in 16th, 0.910 seconds adrift.
Qualifying
In Q1, Salmela showed promising pace. The Finn set a personal best in the opening sector of his final flying lap but was unable to fully capitalise and ultimately improved to ninth in the session, narrowly missing out on a transfer spot to Q2.
Perrone faced a challenging Q2 session against a highly competitive field. The #73 rider pushed hard but finished 14th, ending the day 0.922 seconds off the top position on the grid.
Race
In true Le Mans fashion, rain arrived just before the Moto3™ race, leading to a five-minute delay for wet race procedures and a reduced 13-lap contest.
Both Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders made strong starts, with Perrone jumping to 9th and Rico Salmela up to 18th. Perrone continued his early charge to 7th before crashing at Turn 3 on lap two. He quickly rejoined and began a determined recovery through the field.
Salmela, meanwhile, made excellent progress in the tricky conditions, climbing as high as 9th after a series of overtakes and incidents ahead. However, while chasing 8th, the Finn crashed out on lap nine, ending a promising run.
Perrone kept his composure to fight back to 11th through the last corner and across the finish line, securing valuable points after a challenging race.
Valentin Perrone: "We were supposed to race with one setup, but just five minutes before the start we had to change everything, including the bike settings. I had a great start and was strong through the first few corners. Then I saw the French riders were pushing a bit more, so I thought I had to go with them if I wanted to stay up there, but I pushed in the wrong place and crashed.
“I managed to rejoin and from there, I just tried to stay consistent and bring home some points. P11 isn’t the result we wanted, but considering the crash, it’s not too bad - we still scored, and that’s important for the championship. Now we focus on being 100% ready for Barcelona.”
Rico Salmela: "This was one of the toughest weekends we’ve had this year. In Practice, we made a small mistake. The wind made things a bit difficult, but we still managed to do a decent job. On Saturday, I made a mistake in Qualifying that cost us a lot. I just need to learn from these small mistakes I’m making.
"For Sunday, I started the race quite far back, so the plan was to gain positions as quickly as possible. I tried to stay calm, and it was a pretty good race - I was feeling strong and making positions - but eventually I had a crash, which was my mistake. I want to say sorry to the team, they did an incredible job this weekend. Now we keep working towards Barcelona."
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Adrián Fernández (SPA), Leopard Racing, 1'40.044
2. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, +0.140
3. Joel Kelso (AUS), GRYD MLav Racing, +0.160
14. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.922
23. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.662 (Q1)
RACE RESULTS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 24'41.640
2. Adrián Fernández (SPA), Leopard Racing, +1.888
3. Matteo Bertelle (ITA), LEVEL UP - MTA, +4.227
11. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +26.119
DNF. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 6 Laps
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 115 pts
2. Adrián Fernández (SPA), Leopard Racing, 69 pts
3. Álvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 53 pts
4. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 52 pts
14. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 21 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - J. Kelso (AUS) - 1'39.885 - 150.8 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - A. Carpe (SPA) - 1'40.838 - 149.4 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - M. Quiles (SPA) - 1'39.947 - 150.7 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - S. Nepa (ITA) - 231.3 km/h
