A day on from scoring his best qualifying result of sixth in the Moto3™ category, Rico Salmela stormed to a best Moto3 result with fifth place at the Balaton Park Circuit. Sunday’s race was red flagged on the final lap due to a collision between David Muñoz, Valentín Perrone and Brian Uriarte.
Grand Prix of Hungary
It was a cruel end for Perrone to score a DNF after such a promising weekend. The 18-year-old had bounced back in style from a tricky Sunday in Mugello by qualifying fourth and then fought for the final podium place with his team-mate and three others in the race before the crash.
Practice
The tight, technical Balaton Park Circuit was a contrast to the previous week’s fast, flowing layout at Mugello. Conditions on Friday were also much changed to five days before, with skies overcast and temperatures a cool 23 degrees.
Taking next to no time to learn the Balaton Park layout on his first visit, Salmela shrugged off his Mugello race crash to show competitively throughout the day, finishing Practice in eighth, 0.6s off the fastest time. Team-mate Perrone was three places further back in eleventh, which guaranteed an automatic place in Q2.
Qualifying
Grey skies gave way to sun on Saturday. After his Friday performance, Salmela got another confidence boost in FP2, as he put together a long run in which his pace increased over the 17 laps. Likewise, Perrone set his fastest time on his 17th and final lap of the session.
Track temperatures had risen to 24 come the afternoon. In Q2, both riders posted strong early runs before launching their final time attacks. Perrone’s effort of 1’46.371 was enough for fourth and was just 0.04s off the final place on the front row. Meanwhile Salmela was exceptional through the circuit’s final double left handers as he climbed to sixth with his last flying lap, just a tenth off his team-mate.
Race
In similar conditions to Saturday, both riders started aggressively and immediately gained places thanks to sharp moves at Turn 2. Heading onto the back straight for the first time, Perrone had jumped to third, with Salmela a place behind. As David Almansa and Maximo Quiles started pulling clear at the front, the Finnish rider decided to start the chase and rose to third thanks to a move on his team-mate at Turn 5 on lap four.
Salmela then relinquished that place to Perrone on lap twelve after running wide into Turn 1. By then the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team-mates were joined by Muñoz, Alvaro Carpe and Uriarte as the fight for third grew from two riders to five.
The remaining eight laps turned into a dogfight with the moves coming thick and fast. Salmela showed his excellent late race speed by setting his personal best time on lap 18. Starting the last lap, Perrone was sixth, but struggling with his feel in the heavy-braking areas, with Salmela just behind - 0.5s covered the quintet.
Disaster truck exiting Turn 11 for the final time. Contact between Carpe and Muñoz saw the latter crash. With nowhere to go, Perrone clipped the Spaniard and fell, with red flags immediately brought out. Thankfully, the Argentine was unharmed in the fall. The result was declared from the end of lap 19, meaning Salmela was classified in a career-best fifth, just 0.3s back of the final podium place.
After four rounds in the past five weeks, Salmela and Perrone have a well-deserved week off before resuming for the Grand Prix of Czechia in Brno from 19-21 June. Thanks to today’s result, Red Bull KTM Tech3 climbs to fourth in the Team’s Championship.
Rico Salmela: "This was a positive weekend in Hungary. It’s a new and quite different track for me, so the focus early on was learning and building confidence, especially in the braking zones. By the race, we had a strong feeling and good pace. I managed the race well, staying consistent and preparing to attack in the final laps, where I felt strong on the brakes. Unfortunately, we had a small technical issue with the shifter near the end, which cost us a bit, but the progress was really encouraging. The team did a great job, and we’ll keep pushing to carry this momentum into Brno."
Valentin Perrone: "It was a difficult race. I made a strong start and tried to follow the front group, but I pushed a bit too much early on and used the tyres, which made things more challenging later in the race. I tried to manage the situation and stay with the group, but I was struggling with braking and overtaking towards the end. On the final lap I went for a move to gain positions, but I couldn’t avoid the incident ahead and unfortunately crashed. It’s been a tough run of races, but we know the potential is there and we’ll keep working. I’m confident our time will come soon.”
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, 1'45.686
2. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, +0.064
3. Brian Uriarte (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Inteact GP,, +0.637
4. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.685
6. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.789
RACE RESULTS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 33'39.745
2. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, +3.147
3. Álvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +7.037
5. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +7.374
DNF. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +7.489
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 170 pts
2. Álvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 111 pts
3. Marco Morelli (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 77 pts
7. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 60 pts
14. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 35 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2026 - M. Quiles (SPA) - 1'45.148 - 139.5 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - D. Munoz - 1'45.700 - 138.7 km/h
Best Pole: 2026 - D. Almansa - 1'45.686 - 1 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - M. Quiles (SPA) - 219.9 km/h
