After securing the Moto3 and Team Titles in Indonesia and Australia, Rueda and Carpe are looking to become the best duo ever in the category before the end of the season.

The Sepang International Circuit hosts the Red Bull KTM Ajo team this weekend for the Malaysian Grand Prix -an event that serves as a ‘victory lap’ of sorts after their recent triumphs. Adding the Team title with Alvaro Carpe to Jose Antonio Rueda’s individual honour, they are already the third best team in Moto3 history, and want to keep that form going with the Spaniards, who are now preparing to race their penultimate Grand Prix together as teammates.

Already crowned 2025 Moto3 World Champion, Rueda has the pressure off him in the final stretch of the season. However, he is looking to overcome the all-time best points total for a campaign, set by David Alonso last year. Currently on 365 points, the second better year since the creation of Moto3 in 2012, he has the opportunity to do so in the remaining set of races, and finds himself in good form: The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider is on his best run of results of the entire season, having finished either first or second in five consecutive races, accumulating 115 points out of the last possible 125. Winner of last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, he now moves on to a track where he took third place last year, just 4 tenths of a second off victory. Previously, in 2023, he crashed out of the Malaysian GP after taking sixth place in Q2.

Carpe will visit Malaysia for the first time, and comes off one of his best weekends of the season in Australia. The rookie demonstrated his potential at one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar, achieving a highly commendable podium finish at Phillip Island that built on his resurgence from the Indonesian GP. Carpe set the fastest lap of the race -a new circuit record for Moto3- and took 3rd place, over three months on from his last time on the rostrum at the Italian GP. Closing in fourth place in the standings, he is currently in sixth with 173 points, and still competing to be Rookie of the Year alongside Maximo Quiles.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s results in Australia confirmed the Team title for the outfit, with 538 points, 10 wins and 18 podiums in 19 races. Next in their sights is the all-time points record for a campaign, which stands at 576. In the last eight visits to Sepang, the team have achieved one victory and three further podium finishes: Miguel Oliveira won in 2015, as part of a one-two with Brad Binder, whilst Bo Bendsneyder and Rueda were third in 2016 and 2024, respectively.

Track conditions for the Malaysian Grand Prix are expected to be similar to those in Indonesia and very different from those from last weekend in Australia. The Moto3 riders will start the action on Friday at 9am (local time) with Free Practice 1, whilst Sunday’s 15 lap race gets underway at 12pm.

Circuit information – Sepang International Circuit
Length: 5.5km / 3.444 miles
Width: 16 m / 52.49 ft.
Left corners: 5
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 920 m / 0.572 miles
Built: 1998
Modified: 2016

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“After such a beautiful and intense weekend at Phillip Island, we arrive at Sepang with our motivation sky-high. My teammate and I know our potential, so we’re going to try to continue this run of results at the remaining circuits on the calendar. Malaysia is a slightly different Grand Prix due to the hot conditions and the length of the track, but I always really enjoy it there. We’ll start from scratch on Friday morning and take things slowly so we can be ready for Sunday’s race, which will certainly be a difficult challenge.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“We’re very motivated after Australia, where we achieved our objective and also finished on the podium again -alongside my teammate. Sepang is another new circuit for us, and it’s also very long, which makes it even more difficult to adapt quickly. It has characteristics that have always caught my attention when I’ve watched the races on television, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing it firsthand. We’re going to work hard from the start, just as we have been doing so far, and we’ll see if we can replicate the feeling and results of this past week to take away another great experience.”