Maximo Quiles sealed the 2026 Moto3 title with five rounds to spare following a dominant victory in the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The CF Moto Aspar rider arrived in Mandalika with a 127-point buffer over his closest championship rival David Almansa, while Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte also remained in contention for the title.
Quiles only needed to maintain an advantage of 125 points at the end of the weekend to seal the deal and follow in the footsteps of Jose Antonio Rueda, who also clinched the riders’ title at the same venue last year.
On Saturday, his title rivals locked out the front row of the grid, with Uriarte claiming pole from Almansa and Carpe. The 18-year-old himself could only qualify sixth, behind Leopard Racing duo Adrian Fernandez and Guido Pini.
But Quiles was immediately on the move as the race began, jumping to third at the start before dispatching Uriarte to grab second on the opening lap.
He then set his sights on his chief championship rival Almansa, demoting him at Turn 1 to snatch the lead of the race.
From there on, Marc Marquez’s protege was untouchable, building a cushion of two seconds in the opening six laps before pulling away further from the rest of the field.
Crossing the chequered flag with a margin of 2.9 seconds, Quiles claimed his 10th grand prix win of the year and extended his championship lead to an unassailable 132 points. He thus became the first Moto3 rider in history to win the championship with five rounds left in the season.
Intact rider Almansa finished a comfortable second at Mandalika ahead of Matteo Bertelle, while Uriarte just missed out on a podium finish in fourth.
Uriarte’s KTM Ajo team-mate Carpe was in contention for third place until he crashed out of the race with 10 laps remaining, becoming one of the four riders to retire from the Indonesia event.
Quiles’s championship success follows 16 years after his mentor Marc Marquez clinched the 125cc title in 2010. The Spaniard will graduate to Moto2 in 2027, remaining with the Aspar team.
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