The Moto3 World Championship leader fights back from 15th after the Long Lap to score his tenth podium of the season. Alvaro Carpe places 13th at CatalanGP.

The Catalan Grand Prix finished with a home podium for Jose Antonio Rueda, who earned a hard-fought second place at his home round after serving a Long Lap penalty. The Moto3 World Championship leader, who had to battle back from 15th place, was pipped to the finish line by a rival, denying him the win. Alvaro Carpe fought in the lead group until the final third of the race, when he suffered tyre problems, and finished in 13th place. In addition, with today’s results, KTM has been crowned constructors’ champion in the Moto3 category.

Ambient temperatures of 25°C and 29°C on track, under overcast skies, meant conditions were more manageable for the Moto3 field than they had been during the rest of the weekend.

Rueda made a good start from 6th on the grid, despite being caught up in traffic on the opening corner. After the first lap, he was in 8th place, and he went on to catch three other riders on the second lap. Following this, he decided to serve the Long Lap penalty he had incurred during Friday’s afternoon practice session, dropping him down to 15th. On lap 5, he was already up into the Top 12, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider continued to climb the order, eventually taking the lead shortly after the halfway point of the race. A consistent fast pace from Rueda stretched the field, and took him half a second clear of his closest rival on some laps. However, the slipstream on the home straight worked in favour of the challengers, with Angel Piqueras passing him at the start of the final lap. From there, he battled with Taiyo Furusato for second place, beating the Japanese rider with an excellent pass on the final corner. It was his tenth podium of 2025, as well as his best ever result at the Catalan GP. With seven races remaining, Rueda now has 270 points in the overall standings, 64 more than Piqueras.

Carpe got off the line well from 8th on the grid, although the intense battle at the front caused him to lose several positions, bringing him down from the front of the pack after the first two laps. He also lost touch with the second group after the opening laps, but constant overtaking moves from others at the front allowed him to reconnect with the Top 12. Unfortunately, as the final third of the race approached, Carpe began to suffer excessive tyre wear, and eventually found himself behind Luca Lunetta and Maximo Quiles in the fight for 11th place. Their tussle continued until the final lap, but Carpe had to settle for 13th place, less than a tenth of a second behind his two rivals. The Moto3 rookie remains fifth in the overall standings, with 149 points.

Red Bull KTM Ajo took their 13th podium of the season, and have now reached 419 points in the Team standings -116 points clear. The Moto3 World Championship now moves on to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, where the San Marino Grand Prix will be held from September 12-14th.

Race Results
1. Angel Piqueras (KTM) | 32:40.243
2. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.081
3. Taiyo Furusato (Honda) | +0.156
4. David Almansa (Honda) | +0.229
5. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | +0.542
13. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +5.067

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 270 points
2. Angel Piqueras (KTM) | 206 points
3. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 168 points
4. David Muñoz (KTM) | 163 points
5. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 149 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 419 points
2. FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI | 303 points 
3. CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team | 249 points
4. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 224 points
5. Leopard Racing | 201 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“We had quite a positive weekend again, after more difficult weekends in Austria and Hungary. In general, both riders found a good feeling straight away on Friday, and they were able to be more competitive than in the few past races. Jose Antonio worked alone during the whole weekend. He was a little bit unfortunate with the Long Lap penalty today, but once again he showed the level he has during the race, coming back from 15th position to lead until the last lap, where anything can happen. Unfortunately, he couldn’t achieve the win he deserved today. It was still a great result and this is good for the championship. Alvaro was still struggling a little bit in some areas during the race but it’s all part of the process. For sure we expected a little bit more this weekend, but we took a step in the right direction and I’m confident he will be back fighting for the top positions in Misano.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Overall, today went quite well. Even with the Long Lap, I had a good pace and felt comfortable. After completing the penalty, we managed to get back into the group and start pushing at the front. I want to thank the team for giving me that feeling again, which I hadn’t quite had in the last two races. It’s true that I would have loved to have taken the win after completing the Long Lap, but that’s racing. What I learned today is that you have to do the best you can with what you can control, and I think today was one of those days where we were close to perfection, but didn’t win. Now it’s time to focus on the next race, which will be next week at Misano, and continue giving our best.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“It was a difficult and fast race in the leading group. At the start, we were able to keep up with them, but things got a little difficult with tyre wear and the issues we had from previous races. It’s time to move on, take the positives from the weekend, and keep working -because this isn’t going to stay like this. I’m sure I’ll be back fighting to win races like we did during the first half of the season, and we’ll overcome the difficulties we’re encountering. It’s time to reset and start thinking about Misano, a track I really like.”