Showing supremacy since Friday’s practice sessions, José Antonio Rueda sealed victory this Sunday at the Moto3 Spanish GP in Jerez – with an unusual distance and dominance for the category.
It is the Spaniard’s third win of the season.
Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and his teammate Álvaro Carpe made a strong start, taking the top two spots ahead of Ángel Piqueras (Frinsa-MT Helmets-MSi/KTM).
A crash on the first lap took out David Almansa (Leopard Racing/Honda) and Ruche Moodley (Denssi Racing-BOE/KTM). David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt IntactGP/KTM) was also involved but managed to avoid retirement.
At the front, Rueda managed to pull away from Carpe, who on the second lap was overtaken by the MT Helmets riders, Piqueras and Ryusei Yamanaka. Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar/KTM) crashed, becoming another early retirement from the race.
The fight for second place was the most exciting. Joel Kelso (LevelUp-MTA/KTM) moved into that position and then started to close in on Rueda, who remained at the top. However, the Australian could not mount an attack and, at the start of lap 13, he was overtaken by Piqueras… only to retake the position two laps later.
With battles happening behind him, Rueda took advantage and pulled clear from the pack, holding more than a three-second lead with four laps to go. He continued to stretch the gap until the finish.
The battle for second went down to the wire, with Piqueras making the decisive overtake on Kelso on the final lap. Rueda secured the win with a 4.334s margin. Augusto Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda) recovered in the second half of the race to finish fourth, with Yamanaka rounding out the top five.