2026 Japanese Moto3 - Race Results

The Moto3 Japanese Grand Prix went to the wire with a defensive last lap from David Almansa enough as Maximo Quiles did not take his chances at Motegi.

Almansa started from pole, but it was Brian Uriarte who had worked his way to the front of the leaders.

On lap eight of 17 it was announced that the race leader had a double long lap penalty for his Red Bull KTM Ajo team still working on the bike after the 3 minute board was on the grid. A lap later, when Uriarte went up the penalty loop for the first time, Almansa took over out front.

Pressure initially came from Alvaro Carpe, before Quiles, now more comfortable with his grip level, stalked down the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider.

Quiles waited until the final lap to make his move - then didn’t, admitting in parc ferme that he was in his head with an outside chance of the championship title, twice the number 28 lined up a move on Almansa, who was also struggling with grip, but did not put on a pass.

That coupled with a superb defensive line from Almansa handed the number 22 his third win of the season.

Close over the line, Quiles was second by just 0.046s with slipstream almost doing the job for the Aspar rider.

Carpe was a clear third for Red Bull KTM Ajo after being dropped by the lead duo.

The Spaniard was being hunted over the closing stages by his team-mate Uriarte, with his penalty now completed, finishing fourth, the top rookie in the race just ahead of Tech3 rider Rico Salmela in fifth.

Matteo Bertelle was a second behind in sixth for Level Up - MTA, but had a big advantage over David Munoz on the second Dynavolt bike as he again faded, finding the distance hard after returning from injury as he did in Austria.

Munoz still had a lot of fight in his performance, keeping Ryusei Yamanaka - the top Japanese rider at home - behind him in a close eighth.

Both Joel Esteban and Joel Kelso were handed a six place grid penalty, with Esteban higher on the grid with less to recover, working his way from 17th to ninth on the second Level Up - MTA entry.

Adrian Cruces was in the same group on track, completing the top ten for CIP Green Power.

Motegi may be a Honda track, but it was dominated by KTM riders, with Veda Pratama the top Honda in the race in 11th for Honda Team Asia, just ahead of Hakim Danish, who had not made it out of Q1 in qualifying, but climbed to 12th in the race on the second MT Helmets bike and Leopard rider Adrian Fernandez in 13th.

The same group ran back to 16th with the remaining points going to Valentin Perrone in 14th for Red Bull KTM Tech3 and Casey O’Gorman in 15th for SIC58 Squadra Corse.

CODE Motorsports replacement for Cormac Buchanan, Ryota Ogiwara, just missed out in 16th, the 2025 Asia Talent Cup champion and 2026 Moto3 Junior and Red Bull Rookies Cup contender impressing on his debut in the class.

Official Japanese Moto3 Records:
Fastest race lap: Jose Antonio Rueda (2025) 1’ 55.305s
Best Pole: Ivan Ortola (2024) 1’ 54.761s
All-time lap record: Ivan Ortola (2024) 1’ 54.761s
New all-time lap record: David Almansa (2026, Q2) 1’ 54.572s

Home rider Zen Mitani was challenging for the final points places when he was awarded a double long lap penalty for a jump start at his home race, finishing 21st.

Crashes, injuries and replacements

The other replacement rider for the round,  Kiattisak Singhapong  in for Nicola Carraro, was the first to crash out.

Guido Pini was next to exit, with Eddie O’Shea falling while battling in the middle of the big group on track, in 12th at the time.

Leo Rammerstorfer brought out the yellow flags on the last lap.

Championship Standings

A first, unlikely shot at the title may have passed, but next time out Quiles will just need a 125 point advantage or better to become champion in Indonesia, with his current advantage after Japan at 127 points, with a total of 326.

Almansa moves back to second with a win, on 199 points, with Carpe third overall. Brian Uriarte remains the top rookie, in fourth in the title standings, on 187 points. Danish And Pratama are his closest rivals, with 105 points each after the Motegi round.

Full Moto3 race results can be found below.

Moto3 race results: