Rookie Uriarte remarked: “Second place is actually the first loser!”

Youngster Brian Uriarte celebrated yet another major success in his still-young GP career at the final Moto3 round. Behind World Championship leader Maximo Quiles (Aspar) and ahead of his team-mate Alvaro Carpe, Uriarte crossed the finish line in second place. The Spaniard, who dominated the Red Bull Rookies’ Cup in 2025, has an impressive record: this was the sixth time the number 51 rider had made it onto the podium – with two wins, three second places and one third place to his name.

What’s more, in 15 races, Brian Uriarte has failed to finish just once, whilst he has secured World Championship points on 13 occasions. In the final standings, the Ajo rider now sits third in the World Championship – level on points with the extremely fast but inconsistent Intact GP rider David Almansa.

Uriarte rode with such determination in the end that it took him a while to really celebrate his second place. The super-rookie, who only turned 18 last month, said in Spielberg: “I wasn’t actually very happy during the cool-down lap. The saying popped into my head: ‘Second place is the first loser.’ – but in the end, I have to be very satisfied.”

Rookie Brian Uriarte landete auch in Österreich vor Teamkollege Carpe

Foto: Gold and Goose

Uriarte explained: “Maximo was too far ahead, and because he’s also that far ahead in the World Championship standings, it wasn’t worth the risk for me to push any harder.” The gap to his team-mate Alvaro Carpe showed that Uriarte was anything but defensive. The rookie had lapped him on lap 5 and taken five seconds off him whilst chasing the leaders. Even more telling: the group battling for fourth place, led by Eddie O’Shea, lost a whopping 17 seconds to the by far strongest newcomer.

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Despite the defeat at the hands of the outstanding Quiles, Brian Uriarte can look to the future with confidence. Whilst his team-mate Carpe is leaving Niklas Ajo’s team to move to Moto2 (Italtrans), the youngster will continue with the successful KTM team – and in the Moto3 World Championship. With Quiles, Almansa and Carpe all moving up, the question is already being asked: who will stop Brian Uriarte on his way to the last ‘genuine’ Moto3 title? As is well known, this era will come to an end in 2028 – Yamaha will take over the category with new factory bikes.