Moto3: 10 victories in one season? That’ll do just nicely for World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) after the #99 fended off Australia’s Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) in the fight for victory Down Under.
The duo finished an imperious 12 seconds up the road from a podium battle that Alvaro Carpe won, as Red Bull KTM Ajo celebrate winning the Teams’ Championship with both riders on the Phillip Island rostrum.
Despite not leading into Turn 1, polesitter Kelso dived underneath Rueda at Turn 2 to lead the Australian Grand Prix on Lap 1. Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) made good progress to get himself into P3 by Lap 2, as Kelso and Rueda built a second lead over the group for second by the end of the second lap.
Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) made it two Australians in the top four by Lap 3 after setting the fastest lap of the race, before his home Grand Prix ended prematurely at Turn 6 on Lap 4. At the front, Kelso and Rueda were 2.4s clear, as Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) had a huge moment at the final corner. It cost the Spaniard roughly seven seconds as he took a trip through the gravel trap and grass, but he kept his KTM upright – now though, the rider second in the Championship was P24.
On Lap 7, Rueda took the lead for the first time and now, the World Champion and the Aussie were 3.8s up the road. Two laps later, it was 5.6s. Chuck an extra two laps onto that, and it was up to 7.3s. The top two were long gone, with Kelso clinging onto the exhaust of the #99.
The fight for the final podium spot was raging on behind though. Quiles, Carpe, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), David Almansa (Leopard Racing) – after completing his Long Lap penalty – and Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) were all jostling for position, with only one – as things stood – able to be on the rostrum.
With five laps to go, Kelso lost a couple of tenths to Rueda but on the next lap, the Aussie dug deep to claw both of those tenths back. And starting the last lap, Kelso had a bit of work to do. The gap over the line was 0.4s, the biggest it’s been all race, so could the home favourite claw the World Champion in?
The answer was no. Rueda showed us why he’s the 2025 World Champion by not putting a wheel wrong all race, but fair play to Kelso for sticking with the #99 for the entire Grand Prix. In the battle for P3, Carpe won out as the Spaniard fended off Esteban and Quiles on the last lap, with Esteban picking up a career-best Moto3 finish while standing in for Dennis Foggia.
Quiles had to settle for P5 as his wait to be crowned Rookie of the Year goes on with Carpe’s return to P3, but it’s a result that sees him close in on Piqueras in the silver medal chase. Fernandez, Lunetta, Furusato and Almansa crossed the line together inside the top nine, with Bertelle finishing just over a second off that group to round out the top 10. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE) returned to points-scoring ways with a very solid P11.
Rueda does it again, simply phenomenal from the World Champion as Kelso gives Australia’s faithful a podium to shout about. Next up: Malaysia.
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