In the Moto3 class, the 2025 World Championship title was decided in the 18th of 22 races – With his ninth victory of the season, Jose Antonio Rueda secured the World Championship title ahead of schedule.
The decision in the Moto3 class was made at the Indonesian Grand Prix. With his ninth victory of the season, Jose Antonio Rueda secured the 2025 world championship title ahead of schedule. The Spaniard contested his third full season with the Ajo KTM team in the smallest class.
“I remember all the moments when no one believed in me. I just tried to keep going,“ said Rueda at the moment of his great triumph. ”I also thought about my parents, the whole journey, and all the people who supported me.“
”I could explain it with even more words, but I just want to thank everyone who believed in me from the beginning. I also thank my father for everything, for guiding me through life. I am really very happy today.”
The 19-year-old KTM rookie rider from the Ajo team dominated the 2025 Moto3 season. In the 18 races, including Indonesia, Rueda had only one retirement. In the spring, he retired in Qatar in the final stages due to a technical problem. Otherwise, he finished on the podium 13 times in the first 18 races. He crossed the finish line as the winner nine times. An eighth place in Aragon was his worst result. Since his victory in the fifth race of the season in Jerez, Rueda has led the World Championship standings. His closest rival was Angel Piqueras from the MSI-KTM team. The Spaniard has claimed four victories so far. Otherwise, he has only finished second on the podium once. He also had retirements at Le Mans and Silverstone.
Since Jerez, Piqueras has not been on the podium, apart from his victories in Spielberg and Barcelona. As a result, his gap to Rueda widened noticeably, giving Rueda his first match point for the World Championship title in Mandalika.
Before Indonesia, he had a 93-point lead over Piqueras in the World Championship standings. Piqueras had to serve a long-lap penalty in Mandalika after cutting corner 9. He finished sixth, giving Rueda an unassailable 109-point lead in the World Championship.
This meant that the title was decided after just 18 of 22 races. Rueda is the 18th Spanish world champion in the smallest class. Next year, he will climb the career ladder and compete in the Moto2 class for the KTM junior team Ajo. One of the season’s rising stars is Aspar KTM rider Maximo Quiles. He was only able to join the season in the third race, as he had not yet reached the required minimum age at that point. He finished fifth on his debut in Austin. Shortly afterwards, Quiles broke his thumb and had to sit out two races. When the 17-year-old returned, he immediately established himself among the frontrunners, securing eight podium finishes, including two victories. This saw him quickly climb to third place in the World Championship standings.
IntactGP rider David Munoz finished only two of the first seven races. He then established himself among the frontrunners and celebrated three race wins. Between Piqueras, Quiles, and Munoz, a three-way battle for second place in the World Championship is shaping up in the remaining four races.
Honda did not play a decisive role this season. All 18 of the 22 races so far have been won by KTM riders. The Austrian brand has already won the manufacturers’ championship ahead of schedule. There was no participant from Germany in this Moto3 season. Austrian Jakob Rosenthaler competed in five races as a substitute rider in a total of three teams. The Linz native did not score any World Championship points.
Swiss rider Noah Dettwiler competed in his second season with the French CIP-KTM team. Including Indonesia, he did not score any World Championship points. Whether Dettwiler will also ride in Moto3 next season is currently unclear.
