The Spanish rider finishes the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona in fourth position, with Alvaro Carpe 19th and Xabi Zurutuza 22nd.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team concluded their 2024 season on Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, with Jose Antonio Rueda taking fourth place in the race. Xabi Zurutuza completed his last race with the team in 22nd, while Alvaro Carpe made his debut in the Moto3 World Championship in 19th.

Rueda had a difficult challenge ahead of him, and tried to catch up with his rivals to get into the points as early as possible. After the opening laps, he moved into fifteenth place and continued to improve his pace until he was close to the Top10. As one of the fastest riders, running a pace quicker than the leading riders, he made a final push in the closing laps in pursuit of his first podium of the year. Rueda eventually placed fourth, with one of his best showings of 2024.

Zurutuza started his farewell race with the team from the back of the grid. He gained several positions on the initial laps and joined a very large group, with a high pace at the same time. He pushed his rivals hard lap after lap, with constant changes of positions. He finally came home in 22nd.

Carpe completed his first race in the Moto3 World Championship, with the reigning Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion moving up as high as 16th during the contest. As part of the second group, he crossed the line 19th, gaining experience and learning for the 2025 season that he will contest with Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 thank Rueda and Zurutuza for their work this season, as well as the entire staff and the team’s partners in 2024.

Moto3 Results Race
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 32:27.723
2. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) +0.417
3. Angel Piqueras (Honda) +1.210
4. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +1.352
5. Ryusei Yamanaka (KTM) +1.685
19. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +13.437
22. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +16.645

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2024
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 421 points
2. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) 2256 points
3. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 242 points
4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 224 points
5. David Muñoz (KTM) 172 points
7. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 157 points
23. Xabi Zurutuza (Redd Bull KTM Ajo) 13 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2024
1. CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team – 466 points
2. MT Helmets MSI – 355 points
3. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP – 333 points
4. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 – 322 points
5. Leopard Racing – 311 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo – 173 points

AKI AJO – Team Manager

“In Moto3 we had a special weekend, as for the first time in a long time we had three riders in our box. It even brought back some memories from when we had a three-rider team here, many years ago. It was nice to end the season like that, with our new rider, Alvaro Carpe, alongside us with our permanent riders Jose Antonio and Xabi. I have to say that the weekend was not so bad. Finally, for Jose Antonio, the last two races have been very positive. We see that we need to improve a little bit in terms of our starting position and our starts, but at the end of the race he was very strong, and even close to getting on the podium again here. Our young riders, Alvaro and Xabi, also had a good fight and both finished the race. It was a positive end to the season and I’m really excited to fight for the top positions again with Jose Antonio and Alvaro next year.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I felt very good. The only thing I was missing to be able to fight a little higher up was a better feeling with the hard tyre, which is what has been difficult for us all season. Especially because using the soft tyre in the cold was impossible and we had to use the hard compound. After the first four laps it was very difficult for me to overtake, and on the last laps I had to take advantage when others were overtaking to stay there. I’m really happy to finish the season with a fourth place. Ending the season on the podium would have been great, but we tried and fought until the end. I wanted to thank all the people who have helped me this year to be where I am: The team and everyone else, because without them we would not have been able to have had such a beautiful season. Despite the problems, I think we have managed to recover in the second part of the season. We finished seventh, a very good position considering everything that has happened this year. Thank you all for this year and I hope that next year we can enjoy ourselves a bit more at the top.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“It was a race I really enjoyed, as the feeling with the bike improved a lot compared to yesterday. It was a very hard-fought race, in which we had to push to be able to catch the group in front of us. It was a very emotional race, because we were riding for Valencia, it was the last race of the year and also my last with this team. But anyway, we’ve closed this chapter and a new one begins now.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“I’ve been getting better and better with the bike, and also improving my feeling compared to yesterday. We had a really good time today. We learned a lot in this race, especially about the wear and tear of the laps and the aggressiveness of the other riders. I have learned a lot about how to manage the first lap and we have to keep learning to improve next year. We will test the bike more at the Jerez tests and keep getting better.”