The current leader of the Moto3™ World Championship will continue his career as a KTM GP Academy rider for at least two more seasons.

Jose Antonio Rueda and Red Bull KTM Ajo will continue together for the next two seasons, with the rider moving up to the Moto2 class with the team. The current Moto3™ World Championship leader will take the next step in his career at the end of 2025 to form a two-rider lineup with Collin Veijer. At 19 years old, Rueda is a rider who came up through the Red Bull Rookies Cup and has become one of the biggest talents for KTM, who want to continue supporting him in a project that will extend at least through 2027.

The Spanish rider, who is in his third season in Moto3, has developed with the support of Red Bull KTM Ajo, as the team have accompanied him in all of his Grand Prix achievements to date. In 2023, he achieved his first podium in the class (with a 3rd at the Catalan GP) and last year he earned his first victory (at the Aragon GP), in addition to three more rostrum finishes. Now, he holds a 78 point lead in the overall standings, as he looks to sign off from Moto3 with the title.

Rueda is having one of best Moto3 riders seasons ever, holding eight wins, eleven podiums, four Pole Positions and 295 points from just sixteen Grands Prix with the KTM RC4. This includes his latest victory, taken just two days ago at the San Marino Grand Prix, where he capped off a great race with an excellent overtake on the final corner to clinch the win.

Continuing the relationship between Red Bull KTM Ajo and Rueda was one of the team’s priorities for 2026, keeping one of the greatest talents they have developed in the last decade. With nine Grand Prix victories to his name, the Spanish rider is now the seventh-most successful rider in the structure’s history, behind only Johann Zarco, Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Marc Marquez, and Raul Fernandez.

Rueda now follows in the footsteps of at five other riders to have represented Aki Ajo’s revered Red Bull KTM Grand Prix team in two classes. The teams form a key structural component of the KTM GP Academy: the scheme has assisted seven riders develop their skills to earn slots on the MotoGP™ grid since 2020.

Furthermore, the Spaniard is one of the most promising young talents to have emerged from the Red Bull Rookies Cup program. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider not only competed in the 2022 edition of the competition, but also emerged as champion after battling for the title with Collin Veijer, who will be his teammate from next season in Moto2. That same year he also won the 2022 Junior GP title.

With two riders who have come up through the developmental program, who are also good friends off the track, Red Bull KTM Ajo face 2026 with pride and excitement for the future. Determined to remain a benchmark in the creation and nurturing of talent from their formative years onwards, the team led by Aki Ajo have decided to back a young, ambitious pairing with experience in the factory: Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda.

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“We’re extremely happy to have signed Jose Antonio and also to continue this project with him that we started three years ago. I think he’s one of the riders with the most potential for the coming years in Moto2, so we’re very excited to have him on board again. It’s a pleasure to have two riders together who come from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup program, so we want to continue helping them grow during next season. We’re also happy to continue this project with Collin for next year. He has made some great steps since the beginning of the season, which wasn’t easy for a rookie. Fortunately, he’s been developing very positively in this last part of the year, so the target for 2026 is to continue this process and to get closer to the Top 5 and the podium places.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I’m really happy to be able to ride for Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto2 next year. In the end, they were the ones who believed in me in my rookie year in the World Championship. They had that confidence in me and I’m really grateful to them -especially to Aki and Niklas. It’s a team I’ve always dreamed of being a part of and I want to continue fulfilling my other dreams with them. I hope we can enjoy many more years together. I know Moto2 is a very difficult class, and it will be tough, but we’re ready to give it 100%, learn a lot and enjoy every moment. Also, I will be sharing a box with Collin, which is something I’m really excited about, as we’ve known each other for many years. Finally, I would like to thank everyone around me -friends, family and sponsors- for their unconditional support”.

#95 COLLIN VEIJER

“I’m very happy to be continuing with Red Bull KTM Ajo and very pleased that Aki, Niklas and the factory believe in me. I’m also going to be very happy to have a friend next to me in Jose Antonio. We’ve known each other for a long time, because I’ve raced against him since I was a kid, and it’s very nice to share a box after so long.  We fought against one another for the title in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, so it’s something very useful for Red Bull and for KTM to have two young guys coming up through this rookies program. I want to thank all my sponsors, my family and also my friends for always being by my side. A fun and competitive year awaits us in 2026.”