Home hero Kelso claims sensational second as Rueda wins Moto3™ thriller

In a cracking Moto3™ race at the Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2025, Joel Kelso has flown the Australian flag high by taking a fine second place behind the new World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda.

Kelso missed the start but seized the lead at Southern Loop and, with Rueda clamped to his rear wheel, the two KTMs stretched away from the field by nearly one second a lap. After making the front running Kelso ceded the lead to watch the new World Champion at work as the pair left the field behind.

Kelso was well-placed to match the pace of the lead over the first half of the lap but Rueda was just a little bit too assured in the fourth sector of the lap, not allowing Kelso to get close enough to challenge on the run to the line.

By the chequered flag Rueda was 0.829s clear of the 22-year-old from Darwin after a maximum effort from both riders.

“This track is amazing, I enjoy every lap, it is simply lovely,” said Rueda after his 10th win of the season.

“Congratulations to my teammate Carpe, I am glad we are both on the podium.”

Kelso was happy after his third second-place finish of the season.

“I squeezed everything I could out of it,” said the Aussie, who started from pole position.

“I tried to save the tyre but he is so good at it. I didn’t have a 35.9 in me but the best we could do today was second. It was so cool to see so many Aussie flags, people out there cheering me.”

There was a great battle for third place, involving as many as eight riders, all jostling and diving around the classic Phillip Island circuit. With five laps to go, the other Ajo KTM rider made his move. Alvaro Carpe got to the front of the pack fighting for the final podium spot and stretched a tenth of a second, then two, then three. That was just enough to give Carpe his first Moto3 podium since the race in Mugello (10 races ago), to hold out Joel Esteban, who was substituting for Dennis Foggia, the Italian not making the trip to Australia due to pneumonia.

“Finally I am back on the podium,” first-time Island visitor Carpe said.

“I love this circuit, I enjoy every corner, and there are many fans here. This was a difficult battle with Maximo Quiles and Adrian Fernandez, they were both battling with me very hard.”

It was a great effort from Esteban, the CFMoto Aspar rider taking his best-ever result, from his teammate Maximo Quiles (KTM) and Adrian Fernandez (Honda).

The other Aussie in the field, Jacob Roulstone, had a tough Sunday. The Tech3 KTM rider made strong early ground from 13th on the grid, inside the top six within two laps and by lap five, he was fighting with Adrian Fernandez for third. The two swapped places but Roulstone ran wide and then hit the dirt at Siberia on lap six, ending his race in the gravel trap.