José Antonio Rueda scored valuable points at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. By winning the race ahead of Máximo Quiles and Adrián Fernández, Rueda also extended his championship lead to seventy-eight points in front of Ángel Piqueras. From the first session on Friday morning to the final lap on Sunday, there was plenty of action to keep us entertained at the San Marino GP. Read on for the Moto3 race results and the rest of the weekend coverage.
Rueda Holds Steady in No-Nonsense FP1
Still missing from the paddock were Tatchakorn Buasri and Matteo Bertelle. Both riders are still recovering from injuries sustained earlier in the year. Replacing them were Arbi Aditama and Marcos Uriarte, respectively for Honda Team Asia and Level Up – MTA. One rider who will not be returning is Vicente Pérez. The Valencian rider made the call to decision MLav Racing and the Moto3 World Championship altogether. Evan Belford replaced him, moving up from the FIM JuniorGP to make his debut in Moto3.
Twenty minutes into the session, the riders were taking their time warming up, with the top thirteen placing times within one second of each other. It wasn’t until less than ten minutes to go that we saw the Catalan Grand Prix winner, Piqueras, start to maximise on his pace. In the end, the #99 went fastest with a lap time of 1:41.217. At the same time, David Almansa lost the front tyre in Turn 8.
Leopard Racing One-Two in Practice and Through to Q2
Thirty-five minutes began in the all-important session to determine who would advance through to Q2 and who would be battling it out in Q1. Piqueras came out with new-found confidence. His future advancement to Moto2 is now secure, signing with the MSi Racing Team along with Iván Ortolá.
Five minutes into the session, we had our first crash at Turn 4 as Dennis Foggia went off into the gravel trap. Not long later, Noah Dettwiler came off on an incredibly bizarre highside at Turn 10. It appeared that when the #55 sped up as he was exiting the turn, the CIP Green Power machine had other ideas and threw him off.
Despite his crash in the final minute of the morning session, Almansa remained unbeatable in pace for the majority of the session. His best lap time stood at 1:40.596. It took a little longer for his Leopard Racing teammate, Fernández, to slowly crawl up the timeboard to place second, nearly five tenths behind. Another rider who had a better second half of the session was Joel Kelso. The #66 made it through an immense amount of traffic to place third with a time of 1:41.110. Álvaro Carpe missed getting caught in the scrap, but only because he was forced to retire from the session due to a mechanical failure.
Muñoz Heats Up Saturday Morning in FP2
While he had been the quiet achiever in the Friday practice session, David Muñoz was the fastest on track in Free Practice 2. Over the course of the thirty-minute session, the #64 built on his time lap after lap until his personal best beat Rueda’s by six thousandths of a second. However, the top spot was not guaranteed despite the session being more of a warm-up or data-gathering endeavour. Multiple riders jumped up to the top of the timesheet throughout. It was all about testing the limits without going over them.
Unfortunately, Cormac Buchanan did not get the memo and went spinning and sliding through Turn 2. He was able to keep his hand on the clutch and ride back to the pit lane, but his session was over with preparations to be made for Q1. Rueda tried to get a little bit of a slipstream behind Ricardo Rossi. Unfortunately, the #54 was a little too slow for it to be effective.
Perrone Qualifies to Start on Front Row with Two Aussies
There were plenty with a point to prove in the fifteen-minute Q1 session. SIC58 Squadra Corse riders Luca Lunetta and Stefano Nepa were a little luckier. While both have had quiet weekends so far, they made it out of Q1 at their home track. Carpe looked poised to take the top spot. But, ultimately, it was Ruché Moodley who took that prize and advanced from Q1 to Q2 for the first time since Aragón.
Moodley, Carpe, Lunetta, and Nepa joined Almansa, Fernández, Kelso, Valentín Perrone, Rueda, Quiles, Taiyo Furusato, Roulstone, Muñoz, Ryusei Yamanaka, Guido Pini, Piqueras, Foggia, and Scott Ogden for another fifteen minutes in Q2. Despite both riders of Leopard Racing doing so well in the Friday Practice, there were reminders everywhere about the team’s new direction for the 2026 season with the signing of Pini. Unfortunately, the latest signee crashed after the rider he may be replacing, Almansa, came off his bike, and it went careening into Pini’s path.
Rueda led a pack out of the pit lane, but Roulstone chose to follow a different line. It paid off as the #12 topped the timesheet. While he was knocked off pole position, Roulstone was able to put in another time of 1:40.420 to qualify in third. Fellow Australian, Kelso, beat that time by ninety-two thousandths of a second. But it was Perrone, Roulstone’s Red Bull KTM Tech 3 teammate, with the fastest time. This made it the second pole start for the rookie rider.
Intense Battle Leads to Rueda Victory on Sunday
After confirming that he had a ride with MLav Racing for 2026, Kelso was looking for a legendary launch off the line. He got just that, and within a few turns, he was able to take over the lead. Muñoz charged through to come up to second, pushing Perrone further back to third. It was a little unlucky for the other Aussie on the grid. Despite being Roulstone’s first front row start in Moto3, the #12 was unable to hold onto the position. The lead group never let up, only intensifing with the added pressure from Rueda, Quiles, and Fernández. Perrone closed the door on Muñoz, the two colliding but staying upright. Late braking and track limits warnings were crucial as the final few laps and corners approached. Perrone made some monumental errors that cost him a podium, while Kelso just barely missed out and finished in fourth.
At the back of the pack, Aditama and wildcard Marcos Ruda had bike failures that caused them to retire early from the race. The Red Bull Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera weekend for Eddie O’Shea went from bad to worse. After qualifying twenty-second and finding out that he was out of a ride for next season, the #8 rider was handed a long lap penalty for track limits. Unfortunately, O’Shea had to retire from the race not long after serving the penalty. His fellow GRYD – MLav teammate, Evan Belford, crashed just a lap prior. The last exit of the Moto3 race was Lunetta, crashing out in Turn 11 and almost collecting Almansa along with him.
Top 15
Here are the fifteen Moto3 riders who scored points at the San Marino GP: