Rico Salmela rose from 14th on the grid to contest the final podium place in his first ever Indonesian Grand Prix before coming home in fifth and equalling his best Moto3™ result so far. On the other side of the garage, Valentín Perrone scored three important points for 13th to remain sixth in the Moto3 championship standings.
Grand Prix of Indonesia
Practice
As well as adapting to the hot, humid conditions, Friday was a chance for Salmela to sample the fast, flowing Mandalika International Circuit for the first time. He enjoyed a solid first day, placing 16th in FP1 before setting the eleventh fastest time in Practice to comfortably qualify for Q2. Perrone couldn’t find an ideal feeling on Friday and noted his bike felt heavy through the fast changes of direction. He was 19th in Practice.
Qualifying
There were indications Salmela was starting to click around the complex 4.3km layout on Saturday morning, when he set a promising fourth fastest time in FP2. However, the young Finn’s qualifying was hampered by an early crash at Turn 10, which limited him to just two flying laps and 16th place.
Perrone worked hard with his crew to remedy his Friday issues ahead of Saturday. He looked more comfortable in FP2, when he placed 19th. The Argentine was then agonisingly close to a top four place in Q1 but ultimately missed out by the narrowest of margins - just 0.003s. This left Perrone fifth in the session and 19th overall.
Race
Sunday’s conditions were a little easier, but the 20 laps were still punishing with track temperatures hitting 64 degrees and humidity standing at 68% when the race started.
Penalties for other riders meant the Tech3 duo were moved up the grid. Salmela started from 14th, while Perrone was promoted alongside his teammate to 15th. Tyre choice was also open, with both Salmela and Perrone believing Pirelli’s medium front and rear tyre options were more appropriate for the conditions.
Salmela made a bright start and gained three places on the first lap to sit eleventh. The 18-year-old continued moving forward, entering the top six for the first time on the tenth lap and joining the fight for third.
Fighting with Brian Uriarte and Matteo Bertelle for third, Salmela was touched from behind by another rider, which caused him to lose vital time. This dropped the Finn back into the grasp with three other riders - Veda Pratama, Adrian Fernandez and Guido Pini - fighting for fifth. Salmela maintained strong rhythm late on to lead the group home by more than one second for his fifth P5 finish of the season.
Perrone took some time to find his rhythm. Shuffled back to 18th on lap three, the 18-year-old soon steadied and found himself contesting twelfth place with seven other riders. He finished second in that group to secure 13th - just a tenth of a second back of Adrian Cruces ahead.
After two rounds across back-to-back weekends, Salmela and Perrone now have a week off before the Australian Grand Prix runs at the Phillip Island Circuit from 23-25 October. 17 races into 2026, Tech3 continues to sit fourth in the 2026 Team’s Championship.
Rico Salmela: "It was quite a positive weekend. It was another new track for me and it’s really challenging. We didn’t really do the best job on Friday, but we knew what we needed to work on for Saturday. Our pace was super good on Saturday morning, but I had a crash on my second qualifying lap and only set two laps. So, I had to start quite far back. In the race my feeling was quite OK. I feel like we had a problem with the front tyre. From the sighting lap, I had a feeling that I didn’t have the other days. We need to work out what the problem was there and to find out what we can improve for the last five races of the season. But it’s a positive P5. I was with the guys fighting for the podium, but another rider hit me from behind, so we lost the tow. It was a lonely P5 because in the last laps I pushed hard to pull away from the guys behind me. The pace was there but it didn’t go to plan today. Anyway, solid points. More data. More experience. We’ll keep working to go even better at Phillip Island."
Valentin Perrone: "Well, it’s been a difficult weekend overall. Starting on Friday I couldn’t ride as I wanted. I was not so confident because last year here I had the biggest crash of my life. I struggled to get the confidence back. FP1 was horrible and then I started to feel a bit better in every session. We didn’t have many laps and the laps I did was with not a super good feeling and I wasn’t that fast. Honestly, we struggled. Then in the race I tried to do my best. I tried to get to the front, but I couldn’t follow the top guys. The pace was crazy fast, so I was there fighting for some points. I’m happy we got through this weekend. It could’ve been worse. Now it’s time to relax for one week and get stronger for Australia and the rest of the season.”
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Brian Uriarte (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +1'36.861
2. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, +0.087
3. Álvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +0.243
16. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.630
19. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.448 (Q1)
RACE RESULTS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 32'36.821
2. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, +2.994
3. Brian Uriarte (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, +5.156
5. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3 , +10.967
13. Valentín Perrone (ARG),Red Bull KTM Tech3, +25.933
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team, 351 pts
2. David Almansa (SPA), Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, 219 pts
3. Brian Uriarte (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 203 pts
6. Valentín Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 123 pts
10. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 92 pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2026 - M. Quiles (SPA)- 1'36.690 - 160.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2026 - M. Bertelle (ITA)- 1'37.189 - 159.3 km/h
Best Pole: 2026 - B. Uriarte (SPA)- 1'36.861 - 159.8 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - T. Furusato (JPN) - 225.4 Km/h
