The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider snatches the win, while Xabi Zurutuza completes his best race this year in eighth.

There was a great finale to the Aragon Grand Prix for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Jose Antonio Rueda finally achieved his long-awaited first victory in the class, managing the race to perfection. Xabi Zurutuza also claimed his best result of the season, finishing eighth.

Rueda faced a difficult race due to the track conditions, with some wet areas still present at the start. After taking off from the front row of the grid, he dropped positions off the line, although he remained in the leading group. After the initial laps, the race leader increased the gap, although those behind him progressively managed to catch back up. Rueda had gone down to fifth, but maintained a great pace to claw his way back to the podium positions, then set his sights on the win. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider made a double overtake to move into second, then grabbed the lead and pulled away to finish almost 2 seconds clear of his nearest rival. It was his first win in the Moto3 World Championship, having debuted in 2023.

Zurutuza was forced to start from the back of the grid after a difficult qualifying session at MotorLand Aragon. In contrast to his teammate, he made a strong start and in just a few laps he was already in the Top 10. The Moto3 rookie maintained a great pace and was very consistent lap after lap, fighting with his rivals to hold his position, and after the first half of the race he had reached seventh position. The Spaniard finally crossed the finish line in eighth place, his best result in the class to date, having made great progress throughout the weekend.

The next event for Red Bull KTM Ajo will be next weekend, with the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Race Results
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 34:51.635
2. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) +1.985
3. Luca Lunetta (Honda) +3.556
4. David Alonso (CFMOTO) +4.942
5. Joel Kelso (KTM) +8.503
8. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +17.029

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2024
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 237 points
2. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 162 points
3. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 157 points
4. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) 156 points
5. David Muñoz (KTM) 117 points
6. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo)  99 points
21. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 11 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2024
1. CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team – 279 points
2. MT Helmets MSI – 242 points
3. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP – 212 points
4. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 – 202 points
5. BOE Motorsports – 200 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo – 113 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“I am so happy with the progress that we have made in Moto3. There were difficult times at the beginning of the season, and then we had some ups and downs, but this is our best result of the year so far. It is just the beginning and we want to move forward and try to repeat it in the future. I am really proud of Jose Antonio and Xabi. The first win for José Antonio was something I believed in and this helped him to feel more free, to enjoy the races and to do his best every weekend. For Xabi it was also a very positive race, and I hope he will feel less pressure in the next few weekends to be able to have solid races. I am really looking forward to this, and really happy that we will be back on track in 3 days at Misano.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I am very happy with this first victory. It has been a very difficult start to the year due to the injury and everything else that happened to us. I was really looking forward to coming to this circuit, because I like it a lot and it is very special for me. I want to thank my friend Hugo Millán for everything he taught me and dedicate this win to him. After so long I had extra pressure to win, so we have finally managed it together. You should never give up, so we keep fighting and we hope there will be more victories.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“We have finished the Aragon GP in the best possible way. It was a crazy race with lots of overtaking, as I started very far back. I am very happy with this result, as it was a difficult weekend for us. But we already have our sights set on Misano and we will continue working to continue in this way.”