11/05/2025

Muñoz celebrates first podium of the season at Le Mans & Pini crashes in top battle

The French Grand Prix in Le Mans offered the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP team a rollercoaster of emotions: David Muñoz secured his first podium of the season with third place after a dramatic finish, while rookie Guido Pini had to bury his chance of a podium following a crash.

The Moto3 race on the 4.19 km Bugatti Circuit started at 11:00 on Sunday as a dry race despite the track still being damp. David Muñoz got off to an excellent start, setting the fastest race lap early on and establishing himself in the leading group. Together with Joel Kelso, Jose Antonio Rueda and team-mate Guido Pini, he battled for victory. Muñoz showed a strong pace, but overtaking the experienced Australian Kelso proved to be difficult. On the final lap, Muñoz attempted a risky overtaking manoeuvre on the last corner, which led to a collision with Kelso. Both riders went wide, allowing Jose Antonio Rueda to make use of the opportunity and win the race. Muñoz crossed the finish line in second place, but was penalised to third place due to the collision. Despite the penalty, Muñoz celebrated his first podium of the season and improved from 19th to 13th in the overall standings with 16 championship points.

As a 17-year-old rookie, Guido Pini impressed with an outstanding performance at Le Mans: after a strong qualifying session, the Italian started from second place, courageously fought his way to the front and even briefly took the lead on lap 7. Even though the rookie was unable to prevail against the experienced Kelso, the young Italian rode an amazingly good race within the top 4. On lap 14, however, the partly still damp asphalt after the morning rain proved to be his undoing: Pini crashed in turn eight, but showed great fighting spirit, continued the race and was ultimately classified 17th. His talent and determination in such a demanding field of riders give hope for further strong performances.

The next opportunity for the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP team awaits at Silverstone from 23rd to 25th of May. After their strong performance at Le Mans, they can justifiably hope for further top results.

Results

Race
1.   Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM
2.   Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – (+0.636)
3.   David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – (+0.124)
17. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – (+29.799)

World Championship
1.   RUEDA Jose Antonio/ SPA – 116
2.   PIQUERAS Angel/ SPA – 87
3.   KELSO Joel/ AUS – 77
13. MUÑOZ David/ SPA – 26
15. PINI Guido/ ITA – 20

Team Classification
1. RED BULL KTM AJO – 172
2. FRINSA - MT Helmets – 121
3. LEVELUP-MTA – 117
8. LIQUI MOLY DYNAVOLT INTACT GP – 46

David Muñoz

P3 - (+0.124)
Moto3 World Championship 2025 - P13 - 26 Points

"It was a good race today because I pushed hard from the start to the finish. I was always in the leading group and raced in second place most of the time. I tried it in the last few corner but I pushed a bit too hard and touched Kelso. Nevertheless, this third place is very important for me and also for the team. A big thank you to the team for the confidence they have shown in me after our poor start to the season. We will continue at Silverstone and give everything for more. We are one step closer to our first victory."

Guido Pini

P17 - (+29.799)
Moto3 World Championship 2025 - P15 - 20 Points

"First, I would like to say that the conditions were quite difficult, even though the track was almost completely dry out again, although it wasn't that hot. I only made one mistake; it was the only one during the whole weekend, but unfortunately it happened in the race, which I'm very sorry about. But we were in the leading group the whole time. I raced in P4 and was the only rookie in the front group. So, we have to be satisfied, keep learning and continue like this in the next race. Many thanks to the team, who did a great job again this weekend."

Peter Öttl

Team Manager

"Both our riders have shown very strong performances here at Le Mans. This shows that we have taken a good step forward from the team's point of view. David finished Friday’s Practice Session in first place and Guido was sixth, which was a great performance for him. They were able to repeat this in qualifying with second place on the grid for Guido and sixth place for David. So for Guido as a rookie, it was his first front row, while the starting position for David on the second row was just as good.
In the race, it was great to see both of them battling in the leading group. Guido led a Grand Prix for the first time in his young career. We are very happy for him. David was also always present. He rode a very smart race, which is what we expected from him, that he would improve in this respect. It was very close on the last lap. Nevertheless, we are not completely satisfied with David's third place, because we believe that he deserved to win today. On the other hand, it's a shame that Guido had a small crash in a very promising position. That dampened the mood a bit. But the bottom line is that we were very competitive with both riders throughout the weekend. That gives us hope for the rest of the season."

Pictures Moto3 - Sunday French GP 2025

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