Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) delivered a stunning drive to claim his ninth victory of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, a result that hands KTM the manufacturer’s crown. The race turned dramatically on Lap 8 when title rival David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), who had been leading, crashed out of the grand prix.
Almansa had grabbed the holeshot from the front row to lead the opening lap, though an instruction soon forced him to drop one position into Turn 9 before he reclaimed the lead from polesitter Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) at Turn 1 on Lap 2. A lead quartet quickly formed, featuring Almansa, Uriarte, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), and championship leader Quiles, who fought his way into second place by the end of Lap 3 to chase down a pulling-clear Almansa.
The top two quickly broke away, trading fastest laps at a pace half a second quicker than Uriarte and Carpe. Quiles pushed hard in pursuit, picking up a track limits warning on Lap 6 before the decisive drama struck on Lap 8 as Almansa crashed at Turn 2B. That heartbreaking exit handed the lead to Quiles, while further back Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) suffered a fall from the top six at Turn 6, though thankfully the rider was okay.
By the second half of the race, the front battle settled with Quiles holding a 1.9s advantage over Uriarte and Carpe. Farther back, a massive fight for fourth erupted 9.5s behind the podium, led initially by Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) alongside Eddie O’Shea (GRYD Racing), Joel Esteban (LEVELUP-MTA), David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing), and Guido Pini (Leopard Racing). Esteban forced his way to the front of that group, but chaos struck with 5 laps remaining when Pratama pushed Muñoz wide, causing the Spaniard to crash. Pratama received a Long Lap Penalty for the move, while Muñoz retired after rejoining.
At the checkered flag, Quiles secured his ninth win of the year, putting him in a position where he can mathematically seal the title next time out at Motegi with a 131-point lead and needing to leave Japan with 150 or more points. Uriarte pulled out a 5-second gap over his teammate Carpe, who rounded out the podium and moved up to P2 in the standings. O’Shea delivered a career-best fourth place to hand GRYD Racing their best result, with Pini fifth in his best finish since winning at COTA. O’Gorman took a joint-best P6 ahead of Adrian Cruces (CIP GreenPower), Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), and teammate Yamanaka.
