Just promoted to Moto2 alongside Manuel González for next season, David Almansa’s week ended in heartbreak after crashing out of the lead during the Moto3 race at the Austrian GP. The costly mistake dropped him to third in the championship standings, while Máximo Quiles surged to his ninth victory of the season, the twelfth overall in the category.
It was a case of déjà vu for Almansa, echoing his nightmare at Goiânia. Just as he did in Brazil, the Spaniard dominated Friday practice only to throw away a potential Sunday victory.
Starting cleanly, the Intact GP rider edged ahead of polesitter Brian Uriarte into Turn 1, though he was forced to relinquish the position shortly after. That minor setback didn’t slow his charge for long, as he quickly reclaimed P1 from Brian Uriarte.
Behind the leader, a fierce battle raged between KTM teammates Álvaro Carpe and Uriarte. Quiles capitalised on the scrapping ahead, carving his way through into P3 before seizing second position.
Disastrously for Almansa, just after setting a new lap record, he crashed into Turn 2. The mistake handed the Austrian GP race lead on a silver platter to Quiles, who cruised to victory to extend his title lead to 306 points. Carpe now occupies second in the standings with 175 points, just one point ahead of the lagging Almansa.
With his ninth victory of the 2026 season, Máximo Quiles could secure the Moto3 World Championship as early as the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.
He is also now just five wins away from equalling David Alonso’s record of 14 victories in a single season.
Behind Quiles, Brian Uriarte and Álvaro Carpe completed the podium to deliver a standout double finish for KTM on home soil. Eddie O’Shea and Guido Pini rounded out the top five.
The double podium at the Red Bull Ring secured enough points for KTM to officially lock up the Moto3 Constructors’ Championship title on home turf.
Casey O’Gorman finished sixth, heading CIP Green Power’s Adrián Cruces and Marco Morelli across the line. Hakim Danish and Ryusei Yamanaka completed the top ten, while Joel Kelso took the chequered flag in 11th ahead of Valentin Perrone in 12th and Veda Pratama in 13th.
Further back, Matteo Bertelle suffered disaster before the lights even went out, stalling his bike from fifth on the grid before mounting a recovery ride to finish 14th.
The race saw several high-profile retirements across the field. Rico Salmela crashed out at Turn 6 after climbing into fourth position, while Joel Esteban went down mid-race before managing to remount and salvage a 15th place.
David Muñoz crashed out at Turn 4, and Adrián Fernández suffered a late-race tumble with three laps to go. All three of Salmela, Muñoz, and Fernández were forced into retirement.
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