The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rookie claims third place at MotorLand. Jose Antonio Rueda earn eight points after a battle on the final lap.

Alvaro Carpe took his second podium as a Moto3 rider in the Aragon Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rookie was able to perfectly manage his tyre wear to fight for the win, eventually finishing third at MotorLand. With this result, he is only one point away from third place in the overall standings. Jose Antonio Rueda led the field for two-thirds of the race, but tyre wear meant he only managed to finish eighth.

Carpe moved up to third during the opening laps of the race, and whilst the leading four riders broke away, he led the chasing pack in an attempt to reconnect with them. After they managed this, the group again consisted of ten riders, with Carpe consistently in the top Top 8. Preferring to conserve his tyres and wait until the final stretch to attack, he slotted into sixth, behind his teammate, and took advantage of his mistake to rise to fourth. After overtaking Luca Lunetta in the third sector to move into third, he gained an advantage of a few metres on the back straight to secure his second podium as a Moto3 rider. With this result, Carpe now has 85 points and remains fourth in the overall standings.

Rueda made an ideal start, taking the holeshot and beginning to exert his pace. With the first lap completed, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider managed to open up a small gap over the fourth-placed rider, until the group behind were able to latch back onto them. It wasn’t until lap 12 that Luca Lunetta and David Muñoz attacked Rueda for the first time, which dropped him to fourth place in the space of just two sectors. Running sixth until the final lap, he attempted to make a move at Turn 1, before a small problem nearly caused him to crash, relegating him to ninth. Despite pushing hard in the final sectors, Rueda was only able to recover one position, eventually finishing eighth. With an additional eight points, Rueda remains the leader of the overall standings, with a 52-point advantage.

With a very competitive race and a crazy ending, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team are still top of the Rider and Rookie of the Year standings, as well as the Teams series with an 88-point advantage. The ninth round of the Moto3 World Championship will be the Italian Grand Prix, at Mugello from June 20th-22nd.

Race Results
1. David Muñoz (KTM) | 33:44.745
2. Maximo Quiles (KTM) | +0.050
3. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.381 
4. David Almansa (Honda) | +0.459
5. Luca Lunetta (Honda) | +0.636
8. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | +0.860

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2025
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 149 points
2. Angel Piqueras (KTM) | 97 points
3. Joel Kelso (KTM) | 86 points
4. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) | 85 points
5. Taiyo Furusato (Honda) | 67 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2025
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo | 234 points
2. FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI | 146 points 
3. Level UP MTA | 133 points
4. Leopard Racing | 117 points
5. CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team | 93 points

NIKLAS AJO – Team Manager

“Overall, we had a very good weekend here at MotorLand. Both riders worked very well during the Practices and also in Qualifying. Of course, today in the race we had mixed fortunes. Alvaro had a very good race, showing he is getting more mature all the time and gaining experience, so we’re sure that he will fight for victories if he continues like this. Jose Antonio also had a good race, but unfortunately, he pushed so much in the first part of the race and he had less tyres for the last laps. He made a small mistake at the end, but we’ve still got to be happy overall with him and his work here at MotorLand.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“I felt good today. The work from this weekend paid off in terms of pace, but we couldn’t finish it off in the final stretch. I tried to get off to a good start, but I couldn’t break away today. The final laps were typical of Moto3; it was difficult to control the situation, but we were ready to fight. It’s a shame about the small mistake at Turn 1 on the last lap, as it cost me a few positions. We were able to make up some ground in the final sectors, but it wasn’t enough. We’re satisfied because it was a good weekend and we took important points for the championship. This is the first race I’ve finished without being on the podium, so it’s also important to learn from these Sundays and take the positives away.”

#83 ALVARO CARPE

“It was a crazy race. I didn’t expect the pack to be so big, so it was quite difficult at the start. Fortunately, we were able to save our tyres very well and wait for the right moment to attack. I took the first stage of the race calmly, which allowed me to analyse my rivals, and we came into the end with our tyres in perfect condition to fight for the podium. This is a result that helps us continue to improve, so we’re very happy with this home Grand Prix. We’ve been working hard and it’s starting to pay off, so it’s time to continue in the same way in the coming weekends.”