Kove loses its star rider: 300cc World Champion moves to Moto3

Benat Fernandez is one of the great talents of the production-based World Championship. Last year, the Spaniard secured Kove Moto’s greatest success to date by winning the Supersport 300 World Championship, and in 2026 he will be the Chinese team’s figurehead in the Sportbike World Championship. However, the teenager has now signed for a Moto3 team for the coming season.

What few people know is that, alongside the Sportbike series, Fernández is also competing in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, which takes place as part of the MotoGP season. With two events still to go (Misano and the Red Bull Ring), the 18-year-old leads the overall standings by 17 points ahead of Japan’s Ryota Ogiwara, having secured three wins and six podium finishes.

It was foreseeable that Fernández would leave Kove. After all, the 450RR is the weakest bike in the Superbike World Championship’s entry-level series. Nevertheless, the Basque rider, managed by Efren Vázquez, achieved two top-10 finishes in the highly competitive championship and set a fastest lap in a race – not enough to consider continuing the partnership!

“I couldn’t be happier, of course. Securing a place in next year’s Moto3 World Championship makes a lifelong dream come true; it’s a huge vote of confidence that will boost my motivation even further,” commented Fernández. “I realise it will be a challenge, but I also know – given the course of my career so far – that you achieve your goals step by step. I’m really looking forward to it, but I want to keep my focus on the current competition. We need to stay focused and finish the season with the same level of competitiveness we’ve shown so far.”

For former top rider Vazquez, his protégé’s move to Moto3 is a source of particular satisfaction.

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“The agreement reached enables Beñat to enter the World Championship – a goal we have been working towards ever since I took over his sporting management,” said the 39-year-old. “I am very pleased that we have been able to make this happen – both for him personally and because it marks the return of Basque motorcycling to the Grand Prix circuit. Next season, Beñat will have the chance to prove his mettle on the world’s most demanding stage.”