Let's talk MotoGP: José Antonio Rueda crushed the competition, but that's not all

While the focus of attention was on Marc Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer last weekend, it's important to remember that the Moto3 class has a new champion, in the person of Red Bull KTM Ajo rider José Antonio Rueda. Needless to say, there hasn't been a moment of suspense this season in the smallest of classes, as he dominated so much.

 

Him and the others

 

This year, which he started as the favorite after the departure of the former main riders to Moto2 (Veijer, Holgado, Alonso and Ortola), Rueda has crushed everything. I had the opportunity to follow his exploits very closely, and it is clear that he is excellent; in addition to being fast and knowing how to impose himself, he possesses a quality that is quite rare these days: he is, in all categories, one of the most consistent. In 2025, Rueda still has not had a single crash in the race! It should be noted that his only retirement, in Qatar, was due to a mechanical problem.When he couldn't win, he preferred to secure the big points, having the necessary perspective to accept positions to which he was no longer accustomed.

 

 

And when he can crush everyone, he doesn't hold back. His biggest performance, in my opinion, this season was none other than his Spanish Grand Prix. Starting last due to a penalty, he moved up the entire field in the same way as Brad Binder and Marc Marquez before him., but, on top of that, it was more than four seconds ahead of its competitors! As an opponent, how do you recover from such a lesson?

Congratulations to him, he managed perfectly and confirms his status as a "crack". In fact, he was the first driver to win, in the same year (2022), the JuniorGP Championship and the Red Bull Rookies Cup. There were therefore a lot of expectations around Rueda, and, after a rather disappointing 2024 from my point of view, he finally confirms that he has the talent of the greatest.

 

Can Rueda convert?

 

Certainly, José Antonio Rueda is a huge champion, who displays impressive statistics. He already has nine wins, five poles, and four other podiumsIt's not so far off the feat achieved by David Alonso last year, and in many ways, it was at times just as impressive.

Now let's ask ourselves the real question: does José Antonio Rueda have the qualities to succeed in Moto2, and, why not, in MotoGP ? Honestly, I don't know. You see, I've been talking about the irrelevance of the current Moto3 championship for several years now. In my analysis, it is not that representative..

Since the pilots of the smallest class have been riding these machines for a very long time, they become specialists in them.But their talent is not always evident in the higher categories.. I already touched on this topic when I talked about the new phenomenon Maximo Quiles, in an article that you can find by clicking here.

 

 

I have to admit that I'm quite disappointed with David Alonso's 2025 Moto2 season. You may think I'm harsh, but in 2024, he didn't just have a good Moto3 season; The Colombian had delivered one of the best performances in the history of motorcycling! So, I expected him to arrive, a bit like Marc Marquez in 2011, and start fighting for the title because he seemed to have all the qualities to do so. However, the best rookie is Daniel Holgado, whom I expected much less.

This is why the FIM is working hard at the moment to bridge the gap between Moto3 and Moto2, because it's not going well.The best Moto2 riders, for the most part, have not really shone in Moto3 – or have never even set foot there –, and it is not sustainable for the MotoGP ecosystem.

Taking this into account, I have every right to express doubts about José Antonio Rueda's future. He could succeed, yes, that's for sure. But he could also sink into total indifference, because, after all, Isn't he the perfect archetype of the Moto3 specialist? He who has been skimming through the promotion categories since his early childhood? Unfortunately, he wouldn't be the first Moto3 world champion to disappear completely from the radar, and probably not the last, pending a reform. It's counterintuitive, but there is even a greater chance of this happening statistically when you follow the progression of very good Moto3 riders in recent years.

I'm curious to know what you thought of José Antonio Rueda's season, then, tell me in the comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

 

 

Cover photo: Red Bull KTM Ajo