After finishing inside the top three on both Friday and Saturday, Valentín Perrone secured third place and his second podium of the year thanks to a brilliant overtake three corners from the chequered flag.
Grand Prix of Great Britain
Rico Salmela took some time to learn Silverstone’s secrets on his first visit to the English venue, but mounted a sterling recovery on Sunday from 19th on the grid. The hard-charging Finn gained twelve places on the way to seventh and finished as top rookie this weekend.
Practice
Coming off a productive summer break, Perrone felt strong from the early laps of FP1. Tenth in the day’s first session, the 18-year-old posted the fastest time in the final seconds of Practice to end Friday in first. Riding the track for the first time, Salmela ended the day’s sessions in 20th and 17th.
Qualifying
Temperatures were marginally up on Friday ahead of Qualifying with temperatures reaching 26 degrees. Perrone failed to put a competitive lap on the board in the first half of the 15-minute Q2 shootout, which meant he had to deliver on his final flying lap. The Argentine didn’t disappoint and went fastest in the session’s dying moments only to be quickly demoted to third place, 0.3s off pole. This was his fourth front row start of the year.
Meanwhile Salmela was struggling to find the best lines and braking markers around the complicated 5.9km layout. His Qualifying cause wasn’t helped by a crash at Turn 17 in Q1, but he recovered to post the fifth fastest time, which put him 19th on the grid.
Race
Moto3 was the final race of the day in a revised Sunday schedule. The 15-lap encounter got underway at the unfamiliar start time of 14:30. Temperatures had reached 28 degrees by then, ensuring grip around the track was at a premium.
Starting from third, Perrone was soon among a hectic lead group of eight. The 18-year-old felt he was on the limit when riding to keep up with leaders Brian Uriarte and David Almansa. Despite losing time through Sector 2, some excellent riding in the second half of the lap ensured he could hold on to the slipstream of the lead group.
By the penultimate lap, just six names remained at the front and Perrone only got stronger. Setting his personal best lap with one to go, he was on hand to execute a Turn 16 pass on Adrian Fernandez on the final lap to seal third place and a fourth career podium in the class.
There was double delight for the team as Salmela made sterling progress through the race. Starting 18th due to the withdrawal of Maximo Quiles, the 18-year-old was back in 17th after three laps. He soon found his rhythm and made a string of overtakes while moving to the front of the second group. Up to tenth by lap eight, Salmela passed Eddie O’Shea on the final lap to take a hard-fought seventh place.
Perrone and Salmela now have two weekends to rest up and prepare for the busy end of season push, which starts with the Grand Prix of Aragon on August 28-30. Red Bull KTM Tech3 still sits fourth in the 2026 Teams’ Championship after twelve races.
Valentin Perrone: "It was a difficult race. At the beginning the pace was so fast and I felt like I was riding at the limit. Then in Sector 2 I was losing a bit to the group there. In Sector 3 and 4 I was working so hard to catch back up again. All the race was like this, losing a bit then getting closer. All race I struggled a lot. In the middle, I thought I might crash or not finish because I was pushing at my maximum to stay with the leading guys. But at the end I was well placed and saw the space on the inside of Fernandez. I thought I had to try. When I was arriving to the corner, he was closing the line but I still tried. I’m really happy about the third position. Now’s the time to rest a bit and get ready for Aragon.”
Rico Salmela: "It was a difficult weekend. We struggled a lot here to find the flow after the summer break. It was a new track for me and it was a really difficult layout to learn. We qualified 19th, which made my life way more difficult. In the race I didn’t do really great first laps so I had to fight quite a bit to come back. But I gave my best and we eventually arrived to P7. I gained twelve positions in the race and finished as the best rookie. But I want more. I’ll do my best to work better for Aragon and to come back stronger."
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Scott Ogden (GBR), CIP Green Power, 2'09.126
2. Adrian Cruces (SPA), CIP Green Power, +0.274
3. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.332
19. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.669 (Q1)
RACE RESULTS
1. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, 32'45.262
2. Álvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +0.701
3. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3 , +0.991
7. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +11.759
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 231 pts
2. Álvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 146 pts
3. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, 134 pts
7. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 95 pts
10. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 60 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - A. Carpe (SPA) - 2'09.104 - 164.5 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - A. Fernandez (SPA) - 2'09.727 - 163.7 km/h
Best Pole: 2026 - Scott Ogden (GBR) - 2'09.126 - 164.4 km/h
Top Speed: 2022 - D. Munoz (SPA) - 242.6 km/h
