Sevillian José Antonio Rueda sets the pace in Moto3
Sevillian José Antonio Rueda sets the pace in Moto3 February 20, 2025 The pre-season for the Moto2 and Moto3 categories came to an end today at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto, which hosted the final official test sessions for both classes. With their preparations completed, the riders now set their sights on Thailand, the country that will kick off the 2025 Grand Prix season. Jerez will host the Spanish Grand Prix from April 25 to 27, marking the fifth round of the season.
With warmer temperatures than in previous days, the riders took advantage of this final day to complete their work programs and fine-tune their bikes as much as possible. Many even opted out of the third session of the day, which saw several absences.
This final test provided a glimpse of which riders are likely to contend for the top ten in the category, as they consistently fought for the leading positions throughout the three days. One such rider was Spanish competitor Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) in Moto2, who finished second on the first two days before climbing to first place today, setting the fastest time of the day and the entire test. His lap time of 1:39.552 was below the category’s best references at this track. Belgian rider Barry Baltus posted the second-fastest time, having been highly competitive throughout the test. Today, Canet’s teammate finished just four-thousandths of a second behind the Spaniard (1:39.556), while Spanish rider Manuel González secured third place with a time of 1:39.597. Turkish rider Deniz Öncü finished fourth, followed by Brazilian Diogo Moreira in fifth. Zonta VD Goorbergh took sixth place, followed by Adrián Huertas, Dixon, Agius, and Vietti in tenth place. Cádiz native Marcos Ramírez finished twelfth.
In Moto3, lap times also improved, with Sevillian Ajo team rider José Antonio Rueda setting the benchmark by clocking a 1:43.357 lap, the fastest of the day and the entire three-day test. His time was also below all previous references for the category at this track. Australian Joel Kelso (LevelUp-MTA) secured second place with a time of 1:43.592, while Spanish rider Adrián Fernández posted the third-fastest time of the day at 1:43.682. Meanwhile, Sevillian rider David Muñoz, who had been the fastest yesterday, finished eighth today with a lap time of 1:43.996.
