Jose Antonio Rueda takes his maiden Moto3 victory.

Round 12 in Alcaniz, Spain, gave us the impression that current Championship holder David Alonso (CFMoto Aspar) would see the weekend through and add another trophy to the shelf. However, that wasn’t the case as the young Spaniard, Jose Reuda (#99) secured his first win of the season on home ground using a harder development tyre, taking the risk but proving to be worth it.

The first 10 Laps of the race saw Alonso leading the group by at least two seconds. The Columbian started from Pole and kept that pace until the last Seven Laps, where he had tyre trouble and eventually dropped back to Fourth, losing out on a Podium.

The 99 didn’t have an easy start, as riders fought to stay in the dry and out of the dirt courtesy of the rain the night before. Seconds into the race, the Spaniard was three abreast with Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) surrounding him. Competition for the front slots started getting hot with Joel Kelso (Boe Motorports) moving into second, tapping his seat as he passed, and Daniel Holgado (RedBull GasGas) moving ahead at the same time, doing the same thing. Unfortunately for Kelso, his position in Second dropped down to Sixth.

A few riders had their Sunday come to an end during the race, Piqueras crashing out on Lap Five, Turn Nine, and Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Team Asia) crashing at the start of Lap 8 before Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) stopped with a technical issue.

Colin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) began to progress through the field, impressively entering the top five positions, reeling in Alonso, closing the gap to less than one second, eventually demoting the Columbian, who struggled to keep pace.

In the Final Laps, with less than one second between them, Veijer, Rueda and Lunetta fought for the top spot on the Podium, pushing each bike to its absolute limits. The #99 negotiating the final few corners and overtaking the Dutchman, taking a historic Podium and being the 400th different winner of all Grand Prix Classes. The team took a risk with the tyre choice, but it definitely paid off!

In Second place was the Dutch Rider, Colin Veijer, and in Third was Luca Lunetta, who stood on the Podium for the very first time in his Grand Prix career.

Featured Image: Jose Antonio Rueda.