The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders claim points in fast race at Balaton Park where the championship leader fought for the podium until the chequered flag.

The Hungarian Grand Prix came to a close with fifth and ninth place finishes for Jose Antonio Rueda and Alvaro Carpe at Balaton Park. The Moto3 World Championship leader made a fightback to catch the front group during the Sunday contest, whilst his teammate was unable to sustain his strong pace and was part of the chasing pack.

The Moto3 race took place with track temperatures of 33ºC, similar to those of the previous days. Likewise, there was also significant gusty wind blowing across the track.

Rueda maintained his grid position of eighth after the opening lap, whilst rival Maximo Quiles tried to break away from the group. After just two laps, the first group already had a two-second lead over the chasing pack, but by the third a gap began to open up at the front as well. Rueda reacted by overtaking Roulstone and then his teammate. After the first third of the race, with Quiles clear after setting a all-time track record, Rueda chased the Top 5 alone, with a gap of close to 8 tenths between Guido Pini and the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider. When the pace at the front slowed, Rueda pulled closer until he finally caught up with the leading group on Lap 13. Controlling the situation from fifth place, and managing tyres severely worn due to the pursuit during the first section of the race, Rueda waited for mistakes from his rivals but ultimately had to settle for fifth place. The World Championship leader now has 250 points and a 69-point advantage over his closest rival, Angel Piqueras.

Carpe’s race contrasted with that of his teammate: At the start, he looked comfortable inside the Top 4, but after a while he began to struggle. When he lost his position to his teammate, the young Spanish rider was then caught up in a tussle with Roulstone, and after the first third of the race, he was swarmed by three other pursuers to fight for seventh place until the end of the race. Tyre wear on the final laps created a significant gap between them all, leaving the rookie in ninth place. With seven more points to his name, Carpe now has 146, and stays fifth in the overall standings.

In short, the fourteenth Grand Prix of the season comes to an end with 18 more points for Red Bull KTM Ajo, that continue to hold a solid lead in the Team standings. So far, they have 396 points -125 more than their nearest rivals. Next up, they visit the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Catalan GP, held from September 5-7th.

Race Results
1. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 35:31.839
2. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | +0.018
3. David Muñoz (KTM) | +0.858
4. Angel Piqueras (KTM) | +0.952
5. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +1.362
9. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +11.696

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 250 points
2. Angel Piqueras (KTM) | 181 points
3. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 164 points
4. David Muñoz (KTM) | 155 points
5. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 146 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 396 points
2. FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI | 271 points
3. CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team | 245 points
4. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 206 points
5. Level UP MTA | 188 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“In general, we had a bit of a difficult weekend. It was a new circuit for everybody, and we struggled a little bit with both riders on Friday. After a lot of hard work, we managed to recover some feeling on Saturday’s Qualifying. Today, in the race, Jose Antonio fought in the front group for the victory throughout the race, but of course, his grid position didn’t help him too much. Unfortunately, he suffered a little bit in the end when the tyres went off, so he wasn’t able to make the last step to fight for a podium but, in any case, he achieved a lot of important points for the championship. On the other hand, Alvaro struggled a little bit more during the weekend. Yesterday he was able to qualify well, but in the race, he was unable to keep in the main group and struggled more than expected. There’s a lot of homework to be done and things to understand for the next race weekend, but we have no doubts of getting back to fighting for those top positions with both riders.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We claimed important points from a difficult race. We got off to a good start, but the pace at the front was very strong right away, and it was difficult for us to contact them, as we were riding alone in gusty winds. The important thing is that we managed the situation, just like in Austria, but with seven laps remaining the tyres dropped significantly, and it was difficult to attack. We were lacking something, but we got back in the fight, so we have to take that as a positive. It’s never nice to finish fifth, but you have to take things race by race, and this is all we could get from here. Now it’s time to keep working to arrive stronger in Barcelona -a circuit I really like and where we’ll try to fight for the win.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We finished the weekend with a ninth place finish in the race. We continued to make progress today, but it wasn’t enough to finish in the front group. However, we were able to handle the second half of the race well and get a good amount of points, so we should take the positives from today here in Hungary. We fought as hard as we could, we gave 100%, and we have to stay focused and get to Barcelona in the best possible shape. I’m sure we’ll be a little closer to the positions we deserve there.”