A. Fernandez wins the final Moto3 GP, no glory for Italians in Valencia

Not the slightest slip-up: Adrian Fernandez wraps up this Moto3 season with a literally perfect race, sealing victory at the Valencia GP. Taiyo Furusato and Alvaro Carpe complete the podium, but in reversed order compared to the finish line: the Japanese rider ran well onto the green on the last lap, as seen in the cover photo, so he lost one position to the Spanish rookie. Maximo Quiles was on the podium for a long time but got stung in the final corners, being forcefully passed first by Carpe and then by Guido Pini, a double move that pushed him down to 5th at the flag. Here’s how the season’s final GP went.

Worth noting the presence of José Antonio Rueda, the 2025 champion, guest of honor at Red Bull KTM Ajo and even serving as an umbrella holder on the grid for his teammate Carpe. An emotional first return after the very serious Sepang accident. The last Moto3 race (he moves up to Moto2 next year) starts without him, with a great launch from the Leopard duo leading an already combative group. Ogden goes down early—certainly not how he wanted to celebrate his renewal with CIP... Kelso also crashes, but manages to get going again. Up front there’s a big scare between Fernandez and Almansa, with the latter losing several positions. But the race is long... For a few laps it seems Fernandez, Furusato and Quiles have a little extra compared to the rest of the chasing pack, once the Moto3 field strings out.

Pini and Lunetta are in the mix too—would we get a tricolore spark in this final GP of the year? Zen Mitani, Buasri’s replacement and a future Moto3 rookie, crashes out, while up front an essentially flawless Adrian Fernandez takes a deserved triumph in Valencia. Fireworks at the end for the remaining podium spots: Carpe manages to get the better of Quiles, who is then also passed by Pini, thus losing the 3rd step of the podium. The green-zone infraction by the best rookie of 2025 is irrelevant—the rivals are distant—so his 5th place isn’t in doubt. Furusato instead is stripped of second place in the GP for a rather evident run onto the green on the final lap: he keeps the podium, but it’s Carpe who ends up second.