Recapping all the Red Bull Rookies action from Aragon

2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Round Six – Aragon

Qualifying

Series leader Alvaro Carpe made it obvious who was the man to beat in Free Practice 2 when he clocked in a time half a second quicker than any other rider, although that was no surprise after doing the double in Austria a week ago. He was still 0.238 seconds quicker than 16-year-old Brian Uriarte in P2 with Màximo Quiles completing the front row.

That was the same order that they stood in the points table with just four races remaining. The second row of the grid features their closest challenger for the Cup, Argentine 16-year-old Valentin Perrone who qualified sixth. Australian Carter Thompson meanwhile qualified in 15th.

Race One

Three wins in a row extend Carpe’s Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup points lead to 33 as the Spanish 17-year-old continues his late-season charge.

Argentine 16-year-old Valentin Perrone almost passed him on the line, missing out by just 0.026 seconds after a thrilling battle on their KTMs. Third was Spain’s Brian Uriarte, just 0.052 behind, with less than a tenth of a second covering the top three.

Uriarte is still second in the points table and crucially Perrone moves up to third in the title chase after Màximo Quiles scored zero points because of two falls.

The race was run in two parts following a Red Flag due to a fallen rider on the track though he was later found to be uninjured. The initial race was stopped after 4 laps, Part 2 ran for 5 laps and determined the overall result.

Moodley held of Salmela for fourth, with the duo a second and a half off winning pace, while Carter Thompson took sixth from Pratama and Pugliese, just 0.005 ahead of the former.

Alvaro Carpe – P1

“I feel that I managed the race very well, I led almost all the time, running a fast pace. It was fast enough so the three of us broke away from the rest. I looked back and saw it was just three of us and Rico was some distance behind us. I knew that I had a very good plan and line for the back straight and the final corner so I was happy to lead on the last lap. I am very happy that I have had this run of three wins. That means that tomorrow is my first possible match point. I have to stay calm and give 100%. I am not going to play just for points, I want to win because that is what I enjoy.”

Valentin Perrone – P2

“In the beginning of the first part, I started just trying to be calm, running a bit slow. So I wouldn’t use all the tyre and like this, I would have something left for the end. So the Red Flag was perfect for this it shortened the race and I did have some tyre left at the end. In the last lap the grip was not so bad in the last corner Carpe was super fast. My only chance was to stay behind him and hope he made a mistake so I could pass him out of the slipstream but he did it perfectly, my bike was moving around through the last corner and he made no mistake.”

Brian Uriarte – P3

“Well, it was tough but I managed to get the podium. I was pushing at the beginning so I was feeling confident and the tyre was giving me a lot of confidence. I was having a nice balance between the bike and me. The Red Flag didn’t help me because I was running my pace and after the stop, the tyre was destroyed, after the sighting lap I could feel it was finished. Lucky, I was able to go with Alvaro and Valentin and get away from the others. I was struggling so much through the fast corners and I struggled to stay with the first two. The other two had managed to save the tyres a bit and I couldn’t catch them, it was close but no way to finish in front.”

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Carter Thompson – P6

“Yeah, it was quite good, a bit difficult to get used to the track conditions to start with,” explained the 16-year-old Australian. “Todays race went pretty good finishing P6 with some red flag interruptions but felt really comfortable with everything feeling really at one with the bike.”

Race One Results

Race Two

A first and dominant Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory for Hakim Danish on a soaking wet Motorland Aragón made history.

A fall and no points for Cup leader Álvaro Carpe opened up the title chase. His nearest challenger Brian Uriarte finished second and closed the points gap to just 13 with two races remaining next weekend in Misano

Rico Salmela put in a huge effort, fighting his way through the field to swap places several times with Uriarte at the final corner. He only lost out on the hunt for grip between the two KTMs on the drive for the line and finished third.

Hakim Danish – P1

“I knew it had rained a lot in the night,” explained the 17-year-old in his second Cup season. “So when I woke up I prepared myself for a wet race and I was determined to be focused. I made 2 sighting laps and I already got confidence in the bike, I had the grip and a good feeling. So when I arrived on the starting grid I said to my mechanic, ‘OK maybe this is my time.’ When we started the race I tried as quickly as I could to pull away, to make a gap. I wanted to get away but I also wanted to be under control. In the first laps, I was under pressure, I could see that Brian was just 0.5 behind but I kept going and I did make a gap. I kept my concentration and made sure that I kept momentum and focus and the lap times consistent. I think I did a really good job, I didn’t relax, I wanted as big a gap as I could.”

Brian Uriarte – P2

“Today was better than yesterday,” smiled the understated 16-year-old Spaniard. “I’m a bit happier. At the beginning I was catching Hakim in some corners, in others he took a bit of a gap on me. It was hard to follow Hakim but not impossible. I saw that going with him was taking a risk and I saw that I was 2 seconds ahead of the rest, from the 3rd guy so I honestly didn’t want to take a risk. I saw some images on the screen that something had happened with Alvaro but I didn’t want to think about this. I was concentrating on riding my own race, if I wasn’t fighting for the championship I would be doing exactly the same, I was enjoying the race and doing the maximum in the conditions. It was a nice race today.”

Rico Salmela – P3

“I had to make many overtakes in the first laps because I started P11,” explained the 16-year-old Finn. “I got stuck early in the race with a few riders, the first few guys already escaped. But lap by lap I started to get a better feeling, I tried to put the pressure on Valentin, seemed like it worked. I thought that I also had the pace to pass him anyway and go after Brian but he fell so I didn’t have to. Then the plan was not to go for Brian, he was quite far ahead but with 3 laps to go I had a really good feeling with the front, the rear started to slide a bit but it was OK and I could control it. I saw that Brian was coming closer all the time and we had a good fight in the last corner, I tried my best but was just spinning the rear tyre on the exit and he passed me back so it was a pretty good race.”

Carter Thompson – P6

“Yes I’m quite happy with that,” stated the 16-year-old Australian. “I felt much more comfortable today on the bike. Yesterday I struggled a bit to get used to the track and the set-up. We made a good change this morning after thinking about it and it felt quite good, I improved a lot and had good pace. At the end, there was not much left in the tyres, the bike was moving around a lot but it wasn’t too bad. I enjoy sliding, you could feel it all, control it, you just had to be aware. It wasn’t an easy race with some difficult wet conditions it took me a few laps to get comfortable and up to speed being my first time using the Pirelli wet tyres but by the end of the race I felt really good. I can’t thanks all the rookies staff enough for all their work over the weekend and can’t wait to get back on track next weekend in Misano.”

Alvaro Carpe – P16

“Not good today because I crashed,” stated the Spanish 17-year-old. “I picked up my bike and got going again, I broke my clutch lever, half was gone but I could still manage. I tried to push as much as I could, to pass as many riders as I could. But I finished 16th, near the points but not enough. It was tricky conditions and I was not comfortable with my bike. I am still leading the points by 13 I think, in front of Brian and not so bad as it might have been.”

The Red Bull Rookies are back in action this coming weekend at Misano, which will be the seventh and final round of the season for the Rookies.

Race Two Results

Red Bull Rookies Cup Standings

2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Calendar

1. April 27-28 Jerez – Spain
2. May 11-12 Le Mans – France
3. June 1-2 Mugello – Italy
4. June 29-30 Assen – Netherlands
5. August 17-18 Spielberg – Austria
6. Aug 31-Sep 1 Aragon – Spain
7. September 7-8 Misano – Italy

Images by Gold & Goose/Red Bull Content Pool