Quiles Crowned Moto3 2026 World Champion with Five Rounds to Spare
Maximo Quiles is the 2026 Moto3 World Champion. The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team rider took his tenth win of the season at the Indonesian Grand Prix, and with five rounds still to go, the title is already his.
The 18-year-old arrived at Mandalika with a 127-point cushion and left with a 132-point lead on 351 points, more than David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) can claw back in the races that remain. Almansa took second, 2.994s behind, and Red Bull KTM Ajo's Brian Uriarte completed the podium.
Quiles started sixth but was up to second by the end of the opening lap, while Almansa made the most of a front-row start to grab the holeshot. The Aspar rider took control on lap two as the pack began to break up, and Almansa was the rider hurt by the scrap, dropping to eighth.
The early laps were messy. Casey O'Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crashed at Turn 5 on lap three, with team-mate Leo Rammerstorfer going down in a separate incident, and Ryota Ogiwara (CODE Motorsports) also fell. Almansa recovered to second by lap five, and when Quiles made a mistake at Turn 16 the gap shrank to 1.6s.
That was as close as it got. At half distance Quiles was 1.5s clear of Almansa, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) a further 1.6s back.
Carpe's race then unravelled. On lap 11 he tagged the back of Fernandez and crashed at Turn 10. He rejoined, but made another mistake at Turn 2 a lap later. Adrian Cruces (CIP GreenPower) also crashed at Turn 16 around the same time and was able to get going again.
Quiles took a track-limits warning on lap 14, but with a 2.8s lead and two laps remaining he had room to manage the finish and bring it home.
Uriarte secured the final podium place by passing Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) on the last lap. Salmela matched his career-best result in fifth, and home hero Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) was sixth.
Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) held off team-mate Fernandez to cross the line seventh, but a shortcut at Turn 9 earned him a Long Lap Penalty equivalent, which dropped him to eighth.
Pos | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|
1 | Maximo Quiles | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team |
2 | David Almansa | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP |
3 | Brian Uriarte | Red Bull KTM Ajo |
4 | Matteo Bertelle | LEVELUP-MTA |
5 | Rico Salmela | Red Bull KTM Tech3 |
6 | Veda Pratama | Honda Team Asia |
7 | Adrian Fernandez | Leopard Racing |
8 | Guido Pini | Leopard Racing |
9 | Joel Esteban | LEVELUP-MTA |
10 | Scott Ogden | CIP GreenPower |
Quiles's season has featured both speed and resilience. He broke his collarbone in a heavy crash during qualifying at Silverstone and missed the British Grand Prix, but he returned three weeks later at Aragon and won. That was the first of three straight victories, followed by a last-lap duel with Almansa at San Marino that he won by 0.021s and a win in Austria after Almansa crashed out of the lead.
His Mandalika win made it ten for the year. He is a protégé of Marc Márquez, whose management company, Vertical Management, he is part of. The title arrives 16 years after Márquez won the 125cc crown in 2010.
According to MotoGP.com, securing a world title with five rounds remaining is a feat achieved across all classes only by Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and Márquez before Quiles. Autosport reports he is the first Moto3 rider to do it.
