In his third year of Moto3, Spanish rider José Antonio Rueda finally achieved his goal of winning the championship. Consistency was key for the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider as he steadily grew his points over the year. In 2026, he’ll continue with the team and advance to Moto2. Here, we dissect his winning campaign.
Coming into 2025
With success in Spanish Moto4 and Spanish Minimoto, the Andalucian rider joined the world of motorcycle racing in 2018 when he was 12. Starting in the European Talent Cup, in his first year he came 4th, winning his 6th race. 2019 saw his return to the championship, and finished 4th again.
Rueda made the jump up to the JuniorGP Championship in 2020 and would stay there until 2022 when he won by a 72-point margin. To complete a dominant 2022, Rueda also competed in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Whilst it was a tighter battle than JuniorGP, he won the Rookies Cup ahead of Collin Veijer and Máximo Quiles.
Despite competing in a handful of Moto3 races in 2021 and 2022, 2023 marked his first full season in the series with Red Bull KTM Tech3. He had a relatively positive season, finishing 9th and often being in the top-10 of the races. In 2024, he continued to improve. He had to miss a couple of rounds due to surgery on his appendix but he was often challenging for podiums – even winning in Catalonia.
A Flying Start
Coming into 2025, one thing with Rueda was clear: he had raw pace and was improving each time he got onto a bike.
Rueda started the season as he meant to go on – winning the first race in Thailand with a 7.246 second gap. The second round in Argentina wasn’t as dominant but he was fighting until the end at the front, ultimately finishing 3rd. However, he returned to his dominant ways in America, winning again.
His first stumble of the year came in Qatar. Whilst he led the race at points, on the penultimate lap he started to slip through the grid before smoke could be seen from his bike. Unfortunately, he had to retire from the race which also saw him concede the top spot in the world standings to Ángel Piqueras.
Despite the rare mistake, Rueda didn’t let it phase him. What followed was his first pole position of the year and a trio of wins in Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. The weekend in Silverstone was a tale of two stories for the rider though. After initially taking pole position, Rueda received a back of the grid penalty for riding slow on the racing line. This saw him start 26th. He was able to manage his tires and the crashes to make his way to the front, taking the lead with three laps to go. It was one of his stand out races of the year – if not his career.
Solidifying the Championship
Rueda followed his incredible Silverstone win with a pole position in Aragon. He led the majority of the race, however he opted for the soft tires which proved to be his downfall. Eventually, the soft tires started to lose their competitive edge, and Rueda started to fall into the clutches of the pack. David Muñoz won the race, whilst Rueda settled for eighth place.
The German race was a special one for all riders. Following the wet qualifying, Rueda started 12th on the grid, and slowly moved forward on race day. On lap 17 he took the lead but conceded it on the final lap – finishing third. Along with Muñoz and Máximo Quiles, the podium trio dedicated their race to recently passed Borja Gómez – a fellow Spanish rider who died in an accident during practice at Magny-Cours.
Whilst the mid-season wasn’t filled with wins for Rueda – only taking victories in Assen and Czechia – it was filled with consistent results. In each race he consistently made up places, showing his impeccable wheel-to-wheel skills. Finishing in the top-10 each race, as Moto3 neared the final third of the season, Rueda had built a 69-point gap back to Piqueras.
A Bitter End for Rueda
San Marino was the final European race, and Rueda left the continent with a win. Initially losing places at the start, he was able to get back to the front quickly. He finished 0.113 seconds ahead of Quiles, and with Piqueras back in fifth the points gap only grew.
Next up were the Asian races, with Japan up first. Another podium for Rueda meant that his first match point would come in Indonesia. Needing to outscore Piqueras by only seven points, Rueda was facing a challenge at the Mandalika circuit as he started ninth. And it wasn’t a simple race, with crashes and red flags disrupting the running. Despite finishing second on track, winner Adrián Fernández received a double long-lap penalty – which was converted into a 6-second time penalty. Inheriting the lead, Rueda clinched the title with four rounds remaining.
A dominant win in Australia was how Rueda celebrated his title. But Malaysia became a bitter end to his campaign. A crash on the sighting lap with Noah Dettwiler took them both out of the race, and the season. Suffering a cardiac arrest on track and multiple fractures, Rueda withdrew. Instead of competing in the final two rounds, Rueda is focusing on recovering ahead of 2026.
Finishing in the top-10 in every race he completed and taking 10 victories, it has been an impressive season for the Spaniard. Whilst he could improve on his one-lap pace, Rueda has proven that his wheel-to-wheel racing is top notch. Mixing his ability to race intelligently with his consistency and adaptability, Rueda is a rider to watch out for. Next year he heads to Moto2, staying with Red Bull KTM Ajo – what can he achieve there?