Rueda Stamps his Authority on Assen

Red Bull KTM star avoids Moto3 mayhem to collect sixth victory of the season

José Antonio Rueda emerged victorious in a dramatic and fiercely contested Moto3 race at Assen that was eventually red-flagged with just one lap to go. At the start, Pini stalled on the grid while Carpe got the holeshot into Haarbocht, followed by Yamanaka and Rueda. Early battles saw Almansa and Quiles swapping places, and Rueda quickly taking control by passing Carpe at the Geert Timmer Chicane to end lap one in the lead.

Drama struck on lap two when Almansa and Muñoz made contact, forcing Carpe wide and dropping him to 18th. Meanwhile, both Roulstone and Kelso made good early progress, Roulstone briefly setting the fastest lap as he joined the lead group. Quiles showed his trademark aggression with repeated attacks on Rueda at Stekkenwal and Timmer Chicane but consistently ran wide, slipping back down the order only to fight forward again.

As the race settled, Quiles, Almansa and Muñoz traded the lead while Rueda bided his time. Carpe mounted an impressive comeback, becoming the only rider in the 1:40s and eventually rejoining the podium battle as he sliced back into the top five.

With five laps remaining, Quiles was still leading but came under increasing pressure. Almansa wrestled the top spot briefly before running wide at Ossebroeken, allowing Carpe and Rueda through. A lap later, Quiles crashed out at turn 10 after pushing too hard, ending a spirited but ragged ride.

With two laps to go, Rueda led from Carpe and Muñoz, the pack tightly bunched before disaster struck at the Geert Timmer Chicane. Lunetta was clipped by Furusato, crashing heavily and triggering a multi-rider incident involving Fernández and nearly collecting Kelso, who did well to avoid contact.

Red flags were eventually shown given Lunetta was still being tended to trackside, and with the positions counted back to the previous full lap, Rueda was declared the winner ahead of Muñoz and Perrone.

Behind the podium finishers, Ángel Carpe claimed a strong fourth after his remarkable recovery ride. Vicente Perrone secured fifth ahead of David Almansa in sixth, while Scott Ogden took a solid seventh for CIP Green Power. Dennis Foggia finished eighth, with Joel Kelso recovering to ninth despite being caught up in the late drama. Mario Aji rounded out the top ten.

José Antonio Rueda extends his championship lead to 187 points, further cementing his dominance. Álvaro Carpe moves into second overall with 118 points after a strong fourth-place finish, narrowly edging ahead of Ángel Piqueras, who now sits third on 117. Joel Kelso holds fourth on 100 points, while Maximo Quiles sits 5th with 86 points.

Netherlands Moto3 Race

2025 Moto3 World Standings