2026 Thai Moto3 - Race Results

The first race of the the Moto3 2026 season saw the race go to a photo finish for the joint closest race in the class ever with David Almansa riding defensively through the last corner to win round 1 of 22 - the Thai Grand Prix in Buriram.

Starting from pole David Almansa had shown pace in the lead up to race day, setting a new lap record on his way to the top spot of the grid.

• 2026 Thai MotoGP, Buriram: Race - LIVE

In his first race for Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP after making the switch from Leopard the KTM rider lead from the start for much of the race, bar a spell where race rival Maximo Quiles took the front, allowing Almansa to size up his competition.

Almasnsa was back ahead with six laps remaining and looked to have an easy job at the start of the last lap, after heading into the final corner of the penultimate lap the Aspar bike behind came in close, forcing Quiles to sit up and lose time.

Undeterred, the No.28 bike wasted no time in bridging the gap and was able to run up the inside in the last corner for a thrilling finale.

Going all the way to the finish line, with a photo finish needed, it was Almansa who picked up his first win by just 0.003s - the joint smallest margin in Moto3 history, matching the 2013 race in Australia where Alex Rins beat Maverick Vinales by the same tiny gap.

Qulies, in his first race at the Chang International circuit after missing the round last season, had to settle for second.

Behind the battle for third also went all the way to the chequered flag.

A pass into the final corner saw Valentin Perrone take the final rostrum spot after pushing to join the group early in the race from 14th on the grid, completing an all KTM podium with Red Bull KTM Tech 3.

That pushed Alvaro Carpe back to a close fourth for Red Bull KTM Ajo, with Veda Pratama holding his own - the top rookie and top Honda rode as high as third on his debut for Honda Team Asia.

Adrian Fernandez picked up his first win at the end of last season in Valencia, but was not close enough to be in the mix for a podium this time out, bringing home his Leopard bike sixth.

Brian Uriarte took over at the front after Marco Morelli did most of the work to try and catch the group ahead, the best of the rest in seventh for Red Bull KTM Ajo, with Morelli more cautious, like Pratama ahead, after receiving a track limits warning in eighth for Aspar.

Joel Esteban rode to ninth in the same group for Level Up - MTA, ahead of David Munoz, who stuggled a little in race trim as he returns from his injury at the end of last season with the Dynavolt team in 10th.

Casey O’Gorman was the last of the group in 11th for SIC58 Squadra Corse, with British rider Scott Ogden a lonely 12th for CIP Green Power.

His team-mate Adrian Cruces was 13th with the remaining points going to the MLav Team, with Joel Kelso getting the better of Eddie O’Shea in the closing stages of the grand prix for 14th and 15th respectively..

Official Buriram Moto3 Records:
Fastest race lap: David Munoz (2025) 1m 41.042s
Old all time lap record: Jose Antonio Rueda (2025) 1m 40.350s
New all time lap record: David Almansa (2026, Q2) 1m 40.088s

Crashes, injuries and replacements

Ryusei Yamanaka was the first rider to exit, off at turn 5 from 5th on lap two.

Guido Pini fell a lap later - re-joining for a 20th place finish.

Cormac Buchanan and Matteo Bertelle also failed to go the distance.

Championship Standings

The early championship standings sit as the race result points, with Almansa leading on 25 points, Quiles on 20 and Perrone with 16 points. Pratama is the best rookie with his fifth getting him off the mark with 11 points.

Full results for the Thai Moto3 race can be found below.