The Moto3 leader finished second at Motegi and will have his first match ball next week in Indonesia. Carpe was 14th..

Jose Antonio Rueda finished runner-up in the Japanese Grand Prix, earning his twelfth podium of the season in the process. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider made a cautious start at Motegi when the rain appeared, then rose up the order when the sun reappeared to come close to victory. After scoring 65 of the last 75 points, he now needs to score just 7 more than his main rival Angel Piqueras in Indonesia to secure the Moto3 title next weekend in Mandalika. Teammate Alvaro Carpe had to settle for 14th place, after making a great start but feeling the hinderance of rain on the track.

For the first time in the weekend, Motegi was overcast on Sunday morning and even saw light rainfall on the opening laps of the Moto3 contest. Track temperatures were 35°C, with over 64% humidity.

Rueda made a great start, holding the lead throughout the first lap to stretch out the field. However, his rivals quickly swarmed him to prevent a breakaway, relegating him to fourth. This leading group was reduced to 11 riders after the fifth lap, and was spread when rain began to fall. Rueda, unwilling to take excessive risks, decided to wait at the back of the pack, right behind title rival Piqueras. When the sun reemerged, he pushed hard on the final 10 laps, finally moving into the podium positions on the final lap with two impressive overtakes. He went from being 4.5 seconds off the lead on Lap 8 to taking the chequered flag in second place, just 1.6 seconds behind race winner David Muñoz. Rueda now has 315 points, 93 more than Piqueras, who could only manage to finish 11th.

Carpe did a great start, coming from tenth to sixth in the space of just a few corners. Competitive and comfortably fighting in the front group, he was then affected by the rain, which dampened the young Spanish rider’s confidence, and he eventually lost contact with the leading group. In a second pack fighting for twelfth place with five other riders, he eventually came home 14th -in the points for the 14th consecutive race. The rookie now holds 157 points, and is still fifth in the overall standings.

For Red Bull KTM Ajo, it was a fifteenth podium from seventeen races held this season. With 472 points, they remain at the top of the overall standings, 135 points ahead of their closest rival and continues to take firm steps towards the teams title. The next stop for the Moto3 World Championship will be the Indonesian Grand Prix (October 3rd-5th), where Rueda will have his first chance to clinch the title at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit.

Race Results
1. David Muñoz (KTM) | 33:09.599
2. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +1.618
3. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | +2.203 
4. Valentin Perrone (KTM) | +2.336
5. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) | +3.853
14. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +21.669

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 315 points
2. Angel Piqueras (KTM) | 222 points
3. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | 204 points
4. David Muñoz (KTM) | 197 points
5. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 157 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 472 points
2. FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI | 337 points 
3. CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team | 294 points
4. Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP | 274 points
5. Leopard Racing | 230 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“Jose Antonio had a great weekend. He found pace from the first session on Friday, riding alone and pushing on every lap. Yesterday, he did a very nice lap in Qualifying to take Pole Position -even when riding alone and with some riders trying to follow him. Today, he was a little bit unlucky with the weather. He didn’t want to risk things and, obviously, he lost some seconds. In normal conditions, we would have a big chance to win with him today. He rode a very smart race and did everything he could, but there are things you can’t control. Alvaro had a tricky Friday, but on Saturday he took a big step forward to go through in Q1. He had an unfortunate crash in the last minutes of Q2, but the work was good. Today he was very strong again, until the rain appeared. This affected his race as well. He didn’t want to take risks and he managed to score some points. It was a positive weekend overall, in terms of the standings, so now we will move on to Indonesia.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I’m really happy to be up there again on such a challenging Sunday. The rain at the start had a big impact… it rained more on some corners and less on others, and the circumstances kept changing lap by lap. It was very difficult to go fast without crashing, and I preferred to wait because I could easily have made a mistake today. Little by little, I was able to catch up with the others and was able to fight for the podium positions on the last two laps. I want to thank the team for all the work they put in throughout the weekend, and everyone around me for their continued support. Today was one of those races that could have been difficult for us, and I think we handled it very well, so I’m very satisfied with the result.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We were aiming for a better result today, but we were a little bit unfortunate at the end. I got a great start and felt very comfortable in the lead group. I was able to make some overtaking moves and felt good, fast, and confident, but the intermittent rain made the race difficult for me, and I couldn’t stay at the front during the second part of the race. It’s a shame, because we could have had a great Sunday today, but racing is like that, and we have to get used to these kinds of things. At the end of the day, it’s the same for everyone.”