Joel Esteban took pole in Moto3 qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Goiânia, posting a 1:26.241 on his Level Up MTA KTM to head the 25-rider field. The session, run on Pirelli control tyres, produced extremely tight times up front: Valentin Perrone was only 0.206 seconds back in 1:26.447 and Hakim Danish a further 0.001 behind in 1:26.448, with Veda Pratama (1:26.506), Marco Morelli (1:26.560) and Brian Uriarte (1:26.835) completing the top six. Several factory-supported KTM entries filled the top positions and the front row was separated by mere hundredths of a second.

The weekend’s practice running had pointed to a highly competitive grid. Brian Uriarte led Free Practice One on Friday morning with a 1:32.812 for Red Bull KTM Ajo, while David Almansa dominated later sessions — topping Friday afternoon practice with a 1:30.260 (edging Cormac Buchanan by 0.003) and leading Saturday’s FP2 with a 1:27.308 on his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM. Joel Kelso (1:27.365) and Perrone (1:27.466) were closest to Almansa in FP2.

Friday’s running also underlined the depth of rookie talent — six rookies finished inside the top 10 that day — and produced tight margins across the board, with Guido Pini recovering from a last-minute high-side to finish 11th and Max Quiles narrowly securing a spot in Q2 from 14th.

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