The championship fight is officially settled after Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) delivered a stunning masterclass at Mandalika, taking a dominant victory to lock down the Moto3 World Championship in style. It was a glittering campaign that reached its peak with a tenth win of the year, putting an exclamation mark on a season where he simply proved untouchable.
From the lights, David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) launched cleanly from P2 to grab the holeshot, while Quiles immediately slotted into P2 on the opening lap. But the gloves came off on Lap 2. Quiles seized the lead, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) muscled his way into the podium places, and the resulting chaos began to shred the lead group. Almansa paid the heaviest price in the rough and tumble, slipping all the way back to P8 while his title rival controlled the front.
Carnage followed on Lap 3 as Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crashed out at Turn 5, quickly joined by teammate Leo Rammerstorfer in a separate incident, and Ryota Ogiwara (CODE Motorsports) also came to grief. Yet Quiles was already checking out. Even a mistake at Turn 16 that briefly slashed his advantage over Almansa—who had brilliantly fought back to P2 by Lap 5—could not derail the machine. By half-distance, Quiles held a 1.5s cushion over Almansa, Fernandez, and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) lingering just behind.
Then the attrition bit hard. On Lap 11, disaster struck Carpe when he tagged the back of Fernandez and crashed at Turn 10; though the #31 continued, another mistake at Turn 2 a lap later compounded his misery. Adrian Cruces (CIP GreenPower) added to the drama by crashing at Turn 16 on the same lap, though he managed to rejoin. Out front, a track limits warning on Lap 14 served as a stark reminder that the #28 had zero margin for error. But with a 2.8s advantage with two laps remaining, Quiles had the breathing room to keep his wheels in line.
Crossing the line to take his tenth win of the season, the championship leader officially became the World Champion with an astonishing five rounds remaining. It puts Quiles into an exclusive, legendary club alongside Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, and Marc Marquez as the only riders to wrap up a title this early across all classes. Almansa crossed the line a solid second to strengthen his grasp on P2 overall, while Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) snatched third after passing Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) on the final lap.
Behind them, Salmela matched his career-best result in fifth, ahead of home-hero Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia). Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) initially beat teammate Fernandez to the line for P7, but a shortcut at Turn 9 handed him a Long Lap Penalty equivalent that dropped him to eighth. Joel Esteban (LEVELUP-MTA) took ninth, and Scott Ogden (CIP GreenPower) rounded out the top ten. The crown has found its owner, but with five rounds left to run in 2026, the remaining battles are far from over.
