Moto3 Midseason Review

At the midway point of the 2025 season, Moto3 has been about one man: Jose Antonio Rueda.

After two developmental years, it was clear that the speed was there, albeit in limited doses. However, the 2025 season has thus far seen Rueda step it up a notch and the Ajo KTM rider has looked a level above the rest of the field throughout the first part of the year. 

With seven victories, two further podiums and an eighty-five point lead in the championship, the title is looking well and truly like Rueda’s to lose.

Second in the championship is many people’s pre-season title favourite, Angel Piqueras. The switch from Honda to KTM hasn’t delivered the success that Piqueras would have hoped for, so far. Despite scoring two victories and one further podium this season, Piqueras hasn’t stood on the rostrum since Jerez, eight races ago.

Despite not seeing the podium as many times as expected, Piqueras has still been consistent enough to place himself second in the world at the halfway point of the season. With eleven races still to go, the championship is still up for grabs, although the #36 will need to start really taking the fight to Rueda if he wants any hope of claiming the world title.

Rounding out the top three in the standings is one one of the many rookie sensations this season, Alvaro Carpe. The reigning RedBull Rookies and Junior GP champion hit the ground running in Thailand with a second place. Since then, the second of the Ajo riders has taken two more podiums and a pole position. The Spaniard will be hoping to continue to build on the momentum gained in the opening half of the year. 

Carpe’s rookie season would be seen as a standout, if not for the rider sitting just seven points behind him in the standings. Maximo Quilles, protege of Marc Marquez, has instantly become one of the hottest new prospects on the Moto3 grid. Despite missing four of the first five races, Quilles has taken pole position, won the Italian Grand Prix, and stood on the podium on four other occasions.

Had Quilles not had to miss the opening rounds due to age and then injury, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to suggest that he would be a serious title contender to Rueda. With five podiums in the last six races, the championship leader will have to keep one eye on the Aspar rider as we head into the second half of 2025.

Valentin Perrone sits third best of the rookies in thirteenth overall. Coming straight into Moto3 from the European Talent Cup, the Argentine has been incredibly impressive – even going as far as taking third place in Assen. For a rider whose only Moto3 experience comes from one year in RedBull Rookies, Perrone has punched above many people’s expectations and the young Argentine seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

David Munoz is another rider heading into the summer break on an upwards trend in form. Despite not finishing five of the first seven races, Munoz has taken two victories and another two podiums in the last four races.

Elsewhere on the grid Joe Kelso, Taiyo Furasato, and Adrian Fernandez have looked strong at points over the first half of the season, though would likely have been glad for the summer break following a tricky run of races for each of them. Could the mid-season break offer the refresh needed for at least one of them to add their names to the list of winners in 2025?

Britain’s Scott Ogden and Eddie O’Shea will both be looking to build on the foundations set in the first half of the season. Ogden has been looking stronger on the KTM in recent rounds, notably scoring a front-row start in Italy before taking a career-first pole position in Germany. Meanwhile, Eddie O’Shea has been edging closer to the points each round, and would have scored points in Mugello and possibly Germany had bad luck not befallen him. Nonetheless, the potential is there for both Brits and as we head into the final half of 2025.

Both Eddie O’Shea and Scott Ogden will be joined on the grid in Austria by Casey O’Gorman. O’Gorman is due to fill in for the injured Luca Lunetta at the Austrian and Hungarian Grand Prixes. The Irish rider makes his world championship debut with a lot of buzz surrounding him, and for good reason. A front runner in the Junior GP series and regular podium finisher in RedBull Rookies, O’Gorman will be looking to make his presence felt upon his debut. Stepping into the Sic 58 squad for the should provide O’Gorman with the tools needed to make a good impression.

Moto3 will return to action on the 17th of August at the RedBull Ring.