At the 22nd round of the Moto3 Championship, the Valencia Grand Prix, Adrian Fernandez’s determination and consistent performance preserved his first World Championship victory, ending the Leopard team’s drought of victories at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.
Adrian Fernandes, who started from pole position in his 86th Grand Prix, was looking to end Leopard’s dry spell, as was his teammate David Almanza, who had dominated before qualifying and tied for second place.
The duo engaged in a fierce battle in the early stages of the race, but the #31 aggressively attacked Almanza, sending his compatriot Almanza, who was running in the lead, wide wide and falling back to 6th place.
From there, Fernandez took the lead, fending off the challengers who lined up behind him until the end, winning by 0.286 seconds.
Finishing in 2nd place was Taiyo Furusato, who pushed through the pack from 9th on the grid and broke the race lap record as he arrived at the top group. However, the Honda Team Asia rider touched the green paint in his bid for victory and was relegated to third place, marking his third straight Moto3 podium.
Behind the resurgent Hondas, rookie Álvaro Calpe umbrellaed his title-winning teammate José Antonio Rueda back onto the grid, sitting sixth in the Red Bull KTM Ajo, but pulled off a great finishing move from the final corner to move up to third and into second after the checkered flag.
Portuguese race winner Máximo Cres started on the front row and looked comfortable behind Fernández, but a track limit warning on the final lap forced him off the track and he was also passed by the charging Guido Pini on the final lap before finishing fifth behind Aspar. His fellow rookie started 17th but worked his way up to 4th at the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP.
In the next group, Almanza took the lead and tried to manage the gap, but ended up receiving a track limit caution along with Ángel Piqueras and Marco Morelli. Piqueras risked a penalty to move forward and lead the chasing group in 6th place in MT Helmet, while Luca Lunetta in SIC58 Squadra Corse fell back into the group in 6th place.
Almanza ended up finishing eighth, with Morelli of the MLAV Racing team holding onto ninth despite a late-lap long-lap penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits.
Jesus Rios replaced Riccardo Rossi in the Rivacold Snipers team and recorded a top-10 finish as a stand-in rider.
| 2025 Valencia Moto3 – Race Results | ||||
| position | rider | nut | team | time |
| 1 | Adrian Fernandez | spa | Leopard Racing (Honda) | 32 minutes 48.909 seconds |
| 2 | Alvaro Calpe | spa | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.286 seconds |
| 3 | Taiyo Furusato | Japan | Honda Team Asia (Honda) | +0.386 seconds |
| 4 | Guido Pini | ITA | Liquid Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.674 seconds |
| 5 | Maximo Queries | spa | CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.725 seconds |
| 6 | Angel Piqueras | spa | FRINSA -MT Helmet – MSI (KTM) | +6.121 seconds |
| 7 | Luca Lunetta | ITA | SIC58 Racing Team (Honda) | +6.211 seconds |
| 8 | David Almanza | spa | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +6.212 seconds |
| 9 | Marco Morelli | A.R.G. | Grid – MLAV Racing (Honda) | +12.298 seconds |
| 10 | Jesus Rios | spa | Rivercold Snipers Team (Honda) | +14.513 seconds |
| 11 | Valentin Perrone | A.R.G. | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 (KTM) | +14.659 seconds |
| 12 | Stefano Nepa | ITA | SIC58 Racing Team (Honda) | +14.784 seconds |
| 13 | Casey O’Gorman | IRL | Liquid Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +17.356 seconds |
| 14 | Danish judge | Maru | FRINSA -MT Helmet – MSI (KTM) | +17.443 seconds |
| 15 | Adrian Cruces | spa | CIP Green Power (KTM) | +17.450 seconds |
| 16 | jacob rulestone | out of | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 (KTM) | +17.659 seconds |
| 17 | Brian Uriarte | spa | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +17.799 seconds |
| 18 | Nicola Carraro | ITA | Rivercold Snipers Team (Honda) | +32.592 seconds |
| 19 | Mateo Bertel | ITA | Level Up – MTA (KTM) | +32.692 seconds |
| 20 | eddie o’shea | GBR | ・Murav Racing (Honda) | +32.812 seconds |
| twenty one | Dennis Foggia | ITA | CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team (KTM) | +33.341 seconds |
| twenty two | louche moodley | RSA | DENSSI Racing – BOE (KTM) | +33.402 seconds |
| twenty three | Joel Kelso | out of | Level Up – MTA (KTM) | +35.801 seconds |
| twenty four | cormac buchanan | new zealand | DENSSI Racing – BOE (KTM) | +48.348 seconds |
| twenty five | Zen Mitani | Japan | Honda Team Asia (Honda) | DNF |
| 26 | Scott Ogden | GBR | CIP Green Power (KTM) | DNF |
The Spaniard was battling for position with Valentin Perrone, with the RecdBull KTM Tech 3 rider finishing 11th, while the last of the group, Stefano Nepa, finished 12th on his second SIC 58 bike.
Casey O’Gorman, who replaced the injured David Munoz at the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP, finished an impressive sixth in Portugal in his first race for KTM, leading a fierce five-way battle for 13th place, with fellow stand-in rider Hakim Denmark following on in 14th place for Tachakorn Buasri in his second Honda Team Asia appearance.
Adrian Cruces, who replaced the recovering Noah Dettweiler at CIP Green Power, qualified for the final round in 11th place and was on his way to 15th in the final points on offer. Jacob Roulston made a quick comeback from injury in hopes of earning a seat in 2026, just missing out on 16th place in the Red Bull KTM Tech 3.
At the back of the pack, Brian Uriarte finished a close 17th place, continuing to fill the seat of 2025 World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda in the Red Bull KTM Ajo ahead of his full-time move to the team next season.
collision, injury, exchange
There were only three crashes during the race, and Scott Ogden was the first to go, starting at Turn 9 on the first lap.
Joel Kelso was next on the gravel, passing Cormac Buchanan to finish 23rd and closing in on the next group by the checkered flag.
Zen Mitani was the only replacement rider who did not finish the race, having crashed while fighting for position with Eddie O’Shea.
Final championship standings
Rueda won a championship before an injury ended his season and will finish 2025 as a champion with a career total of .365.
Piqueras finished the season with 281 points, an 84-point difference, and was good enough to remain in second place for the season.
Third place was the top rookie in 2025, with Querries scoring 274 points by the end of the season.
Carpe (215) overtook the absent Muñoz (197) to move into the top five in 2025.