The sun came out in Mugello for Qualifying and gave Alvaro Carpe that extra boost to head the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup timing screen.
The Spaniard is not 17 until next Wednesday but showed plenty of experience as he made the best use of the slipstream and his KTM to be the only rider under 2 minutes for the 5.245km circuit.
Finnish 16-year-old Rico Salmela was just 0.394 seconds slower and 0.040 better than Cup leader Màximo Quiles, the 16-year-old Spaniard. 
Carpe P1, Salmela P2, Quiles P3
Carpe wants to keep going
“So far I have a perfect weekend, P1, P1, P1. It’s my first pole position ever, my feeling with the KTM was incredible, just a little chatter but very good. The Pirelli tyres were working very good, I like the track so much, all the fast corners, the hard braking.”
“I hope I can continue the perfect weekend tomorrow.”
“I was running behind the group, I would drop back about 2 seconds then catch them in the last sector because the slipstream there is so important. It worked.”
“I hardly changed the bike setting, in FP2 I tried the shorter sprocket and I had P1 but it didn’t feel right and I went back to the longer sprocket for Qualifying.”
Salmela is happy overtaking
“I started Quali by myself. I had a good feeling when I was running alone, I did quite a good lap time alone but then I went for another one, tried to push a lot and then into turn one I arrived sliding, I couldn’t stop the bike and went wide.”
“The group behind caught me then and I was a bit stuck in the group. I didn’t want to push too much and help the others in the group too much. Then in the last lap, I had made a little gap and I ran in front and did a decent lap. I made a few mistakes but it was still a good lap time.”
“I feel good for the race, I feel more comfortable overtaking today, that’s good, we’ll see tomorrow.”
Quiles is happier alone
“I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted the pole but it is difficult with these guys because they are really crazy in a group, they go, they slow down. So I said to myself, OK, I don’t want to touch with anybody, I will go alone.”
“So I ran alone, but here you really do need a slipstream, it’s like half a second or one second so this time is really good. I feel good with the bike, I have chatter but this is normal, the bike is good.”
“I will try to break away tomorrow if I can, I don’t know but I will try.”
Brian Uriarte knows there is more to come from P4
“I wanted the pole position,” stated the 15-year-old Spaniard frankly. “I worked first alone, then I went with some other riders because I wanted to see where I was compared to them. I have raced here many times in the Italian Championship in PreMoto3 and I enjoy it.”
“I think there are some things to improve from my side, I have to work more on my pace, try to improve both following and alone, it’s a long track, the slipstream will help but also you need to be able to go alone.”
“On the last lap I made the time alone and I still have to make everything work together, I know all the tricks but I need to put it together. I wanted the pole but I have P4 and I don’t start too bad so we’ll see.”
Valentin Perrone is happier with the bike than the track – P5
“I’m really happy because I was pushing all the time,” stated the 16-year-old Argentine. “Overtaking in the group and also following, getting to the front, whatever I wanted to do. So I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
“In the end, I am really happy with the bike, in the beginning, I was a little confused with it, I didn’t feel really comfortable but in Qualifying with the new tyres it felt really good.”
“It’s my first time here, I don’t immediately like the track, It’s a little bit difficult but I am working on it.”
Hakim Danish has the bike sorted and wants more from himself – P6
“P6 is not bad after FP1 and FP2, they were quite difficult for me,” explained the 16-year-old Malaysian. “So in QP, I was able to improve my riding and the better time came.”
“I feel confident with the bike, I think I can have a good race but I still need to improve.”
“We did work on the settings a bit today through the Free Practice sessions and for Qualifying it felt good so we will keep it for the race.”
Veda Pratama enjoying Mugello – P7
“I’m happy but I think I can go faster,” enthused the 15-year-old Indonesian. “In the beginning, I was 0.2 or 0.3 faster but the lap time was cancelled. Finally, in the last lap I did a 2-minute 0.8 I’m happy with that.”
“The bike is good, not perfect, not perfect in the front but it’s not a big problem for me.”
“It’s my first time here and I like this circuit, It is really fun and I enjoy the long straight, the fast corners, especially the Arrabbiata, fast, climbing, I really enjoy that.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 1 is at 17:00 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Rookies Cup News
Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/
