David Almansa was the fastest rider on Friday (18) during the free practice sessions for the Austrian Grand Prix, the 15th round of the 2026 Moto3 season. In the final of the day’s two activities at the Red Bull Ring, the session that determined the 14 riders directly qualifying for Q2, the Intact GP rider posted his best lap in a time of 1:39.668.
The second position belonged to Máximo Quiles, the Aspar rider who currently leads the standings and who was edged by Almansa by 0.195 seconds. Álvaro Carpe, from Ajo, finished in third place, followed by Matteo Bertelle in fourth on an MTA bike. The group of the top five also included Brian Uriarte, the rider who represents Ajo.
Hakim Danish, from MSI, finished the day with the sixth-best time, ahead of Joel Esteban, seventh with an MTA bike. Rico Salmela, from Tech3, closed the day with the eighth-fastest time, ahead of Scott Ogden, ninth on a CIP bike. The list of the ten fastest at the Red Bull Ring was completed by Ryusei Yamanaka, from MSI.
Beyond the riders who make up the top-10, the list of those directly qualified for Q2 also includes Adrián Cruces, on a CIP bike, Joel Kelso, the rider representing GRYD, Connor O’Gorman, from SIC58, and Adrián Fernández, who rounds out the list of 14 riders qualified with Leopard Racing equipment.
The Moto3 schedule at the Red Bull Ring will continue this Saturday (19), with one more free practice session at 3:40 a.m., and the qualifying starting at 7:45 a.m. The Austrian Grand Prix will be contested on Sunday, starting at 6:00 a.m.
