Uriarte takes Moto3 pole with record lap at Red Bull Ring
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026
Moto3 FP1
David Almansa set the early standard in Friday’s Moto3 action at the Red Bull Ring, and he backed it up again later in the day. He led FP1 with a 1:40.595 lap, the only effort in the 1:40s, and Max Quiles followed 0.648 seconds back in second. Adrian Fernandez took third, Alvaro Carpe finished fourth and Brian Uriarte came fifth, giving the top five an all-Spanish lineup. Rico Salmela placed sixth, Joel Esteban seventh, Veda Pratama eighth, Guido Pini ninth and Valentin Perrone 10th, while David Munoz ended up 16th after returning to action from his crash in Hungary. Almansa then went back to the top in Friday practice with a 1:39.668 lap, his 20th session-topping run of the season. Less than a second separated the top 14 riders, a sign of how tight the field ran around the Austrian circuit even before qualifying pushed the pace higher.
Moto3 qualifying
Brian Uriarte delivered the biggest lap of the day in qualifying, taking pole position with a 1:39.544 on his final flying lap. The Spanish rider beat Almansa by 0.064 seconds and set a new all-time lap record in the process, a sharp response after Almansa had controlled much of Friday’s running. Uriarte’s run also put Red Bull KTM Ajo in prime position for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, with Carpe joining him on the front row after qualifying third with a 1:39.859. Maximo Quiles secured fourth, Matteo Bertelle took fifth and Scott Ogden claimed sixth. The front of the grid reflected the championship picture as well, with the top four riders in the title race filling the first four grid spots for Sunday. Uriarte did his best work when it mattered most, and his final lap turned a close session into a clear statement. Almansa stayed close enough to keep the pressure on, but Uriarte found the extra speed needed to leave the Red Bull Ring with pole and a record to match it.
Moto3 FP2
Uriarte kept the momentum going in the wet FP2 session, leading the way with a 1:47.740 lap in conditions that never fully dried. Joel Esteban ended the session second with a 1:48.010, and Leo Rammerstorfer was third in 1:48.298. Hakim Danish, Marcos Uriarte and Guido Pini rounded out the top six in a session that stayed slippery from start to finish. The track never came in fully, which made the order harder to read and left the results provisional, but the times still showed who adapted quickest to the mixed grip. FP2 included 26 riders, yet several did not set a time at all, among them Almansa and Quiles. That left the session with an unfinished feel, but the front of the timing sheet still belonged to Uriarte. He had already locked up pole in qualifying, then followed that with the best lap in wet practice, giving him a clean sweep of the day’s high points. The combination of pace in dry conditions and control in the rain put him in strong shape heading into Sunday’s race, while the rest of the field had little margin to make up ground.
