Celestino Vietti was born in the Italian town of Cirie in 2001. He gained motorcycle riding experience at an early age and has gone on to achieve considerable success.
In 2015 he became Italian champion in the PreMoto3 class, also competing in the CIV Italian series, where he finished in an outstanding fourth position. These results helped him continue in the CIV in 2016, switching class to Moto3.
Vietti made his debut in the FIM CEV Repsol (now Junior GP) in 2017, although his big opportunity came the following year, when he had a replacement appearance in the Moto3 World Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix. He was able to score points in his first race, then at the next round earned his first podium at the Australian Grand Prix. This was enough to earn him a permanent spot on the Moto3 World Championship grid in 2018. In his rookie year he took three podium finishes and became Rookie of the Year by a considerable margin, ending the year in sixth position overall.
His first wins came in 2020 at the Austrian and French Grands Prix, plus three more podiums. Vietti moved up to Moto2 in 2021, in which he had a difficult start to the campaign but made strong improvement in the final stretch.
It was not until 2022 that his first podium in Moto2 arrived, with a win at the Qatar Grand Prix, and he was one of the favourites for the title until a negative run of results took him out of contention. In 2023 Vietti took a further win in Austria and a podium in San Marino, before missing the latter stages of the season through injury.
In 2024, Vietti sets new challenges and objectives for himself by joining Red Bull KTM Ajo.
Jose Antonio Rueda was born in Seville (Spain) on October 29th, 2005. His first experience with motorcycles came at the age of six and he soon participated in his first competitions, going on to become Spanish Pre Moto4 Champion in 2016, at just 11 years old, then he was crowned as Moto4 Spanish Champion in 2017.
In 2018 he participated in the European Talent Cup for the first time. His first season brought with it four podium finishes, including his first victory in the class. In 2019, he also achieved good results at the European Talent Cup. With one podium and one win, he finished the year fourth in the standings and placing in the Top 10 at every race.
In 2020, Rueda made the move up to the current Junior GP World Championship, where he finished thirteenth. In 2021 the young rider achieved his first podiums in the category and concluded the season in eighth.
2022 was Rueda’s breakout year, and he participated for the third year in the FIM Junior GP World Championship at the same time as competing in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. With two rounds to spare, the Spaniard became Junior GP World Championship with 5 victories, 9 podiums and a 79-point lead over his nearest rival. Rueda’s great season was also rounded off with the Red Bull Rookies Cup title, won at the last round of the year at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. Jose Antonio Rueda became the first rider in history to win these two titles in the same year.
2023 was his first full season in the Moto3 World Championship. Rueda arrived at Red Bul KTM Ajo as one of the great promising talents in the class, making clear his potential by achieving a front row start in Portimao, and finishing in an outstanding fourth position. The He progressively adapted and fought to be the best rookie, achieving his first podium at the Catalan Grand Prix with a third place. The second part of the season allowed him to make a step up in quality, becoming more competitive and consistent, finishing in the Top 10 and even the Top 5 on numerous occasions. After a demanding final stretch to the year, Rueda concluded the season in eighth position overall.
For 2024, Rueda faces his second consecutive year with the team, which will mean a new challenge with more ambitious objectives after the experience acquired in his rookie year.
Xabi Zurutuza was born in the town of Legazpi, Guipúzcoa (Spain) on April 7th, 2006. He began riding at an early age.
In 2017, at only 11 years old, he achieved his first big result, with third position in the Spanish 65cc Supermotard Championship.
In 2018 he went one step further and became Spanish champion in the discipline, in 85cc. At the same time, he took his first steps in roadracing competing in PreMoto4.
2019 was a challenge for Zurutuza, combining riding in both categories and becoming the Spanish 250cc Supermotard Champion. In 2020 he was Spanish Supermotard Champion again, and placed third in the Spanish PreMoto3 series.
In 2021 he decided to concentrate on a single category and the Hawkers European Talent Cup. Despite not starting the season as one of the favourites, Zurutuza quickly became one of the riders to beat, achieving four podiums. His third position in the overall standings led to him moving up to Junior GP, where he competed in 2022 and 2023. His rookie season saw him focused on adapting, and he was able to score points in every race in a highly competitive class. In 2023 he made significant progress, earning two victories at Portimao and Montmeló and challenging for top spots in a large number of races.
2024 will provide a new challenge for Xabi Zurutuza, as he makes the move to the Moto3 World Championship with Red Bull KTM Ajo -the biggest step of his career to date.
