17/05/2026

David Muñoz storms to third in Barcelona

On Sunday, LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP's both Moto3 riders, David Muñoz and David Almansa, made an impressive mark on the sixth race of the season. Muñoz was rewarded for his brilliant performance with the trophy for third place, while David Almansa finished fifth as part of the leading group.

With good conditions on race day in the north-west of Spain, the riders kept their cool in a race that could hardly have been more dramatic.

David Muñoz started the race from P3 on the front row, with David Almansa just one position behind his teammate. Amidst the frantic opening phase, Almansa took the lead at the start of the second lap. However, an attempt to break away failed due to the constant slipstreaming battles on the long main straight at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The 20-year-old remained a strong contender for a podium finish until just a few laps before the end.

Just like Almansa, David Muñoz held his ground in the lead group throughout the entire race. The 20-year-old from Seville, however, had more life left in his tyres during the closing stages, despite having led the race at various points himself. On the final lap, he went all in and squeezed past the eventual winner, Máximo Quiles, just a few corners before the finish line, but Quiles managed to set a counter-attack in the final corner. Muñoz was then pipped at the line by Alvaro Carpe in a photo finish.

Almansa, who set the fastest lap in round eleven, secured a very impressive fifth place!

The championship continues in two weeks with the World Championship's visit to Italy, at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in the heart of Tuscany.

Moto3™ Race Classification (18 Laps):
1 Maximo QUILES / SPA / CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team / KTM / 32´28.964
2 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / +0.094
3 #64 #64 David MUÑOZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / +0.098
…
5 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / +0.552

Moto3™ World Standings:
1 Maximo QUILES / SPA / KTM / 140
2 Adrian FERNANDEZ / SPA / KTM / 76
3 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / KTM / 73
…
7 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / KTM / 52
10 #64 David MUÑOZ / SPA / KTM / 38
22 #88 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / KTM / 2

Moto3™ Team Standings:
1 CFMOTO Aspar Team 198
2 Leopard Racing 122
3 Red Bull KTM Ajo 115
4 LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP 92

David Muñoz

Race: P3 +0.098
Moto3 World Championship 2026: P10 – 38 Points

«I'm really happy with this race, as a Grand Prix in Spain is always something special for me. I stayed calm until the end and was aware of the battle with several other riders. I fought hard on the final lap to stay ahead, but Maximo overtook me in the last corner. Third place is a great result for us and I'm so happy with the work we've done, because Friday was a very difficult day for me as the feeling with the bike wasn't ideal. I'm so chuffed with this podium, and now it's time for a short break before getting back into full training soon and focusing on myself. A big thank you to the team for everything they've done for me this weekend.»

David Almansa

Race: P5 +0.552
Moto3 World Championship 2026: P7 – 52 Points

«In the opening laps, I tried to open a gap. I really gave it my all because our plan was to break up the group. But then it was tough to stay in front, mainly due to the slipstreaming along the straight. Once I realised I couldn't make it stick, I tried to save the tyres for the final laps. However, in the last five or six laps, I took the lead again and tried to control the pace because both my front and rear tyres were shot. And once again, I couldn't execute my plan, mostly because I couldn't find any more speed in the final corners. In the end, we finished the race in P5 and bagged some good points for the championship. A big thank you to the team for the great work and support throughout the weekend here.»

Peter Öttl

Teammanager

«David Almansa put in some very strong performances across all practice sessions, which he backed up in qualifying by securing fourth on the grid. It was very impressive that he consistently set his lap times while riding alone. David Muñoz struggled slightly on Friday, but managed to make it from Q1 into Q2 in third place, where he went on to claim an excellent second on the grid. This gave both our Davids a perfect starting position for Sunday. During the race, both were consistently in the top five throughout the entire distance within a ten-rider group that was separated by just one second at the finish line.»

«David Muñoz gave it his all to win the race, but fell short by a tenth of a second and missed out on second place by just a few thousandths. David Almansa led for much of the race and finished just half a second behind the winner. Third and fifth places are therefore a very strong team result; congratulations to both. Many thanks to the entire team as well as our two riders for the outstanding work. We were very competitive once again this race weekend and are already looking forward to Mugello, where we want to keep this momentum going.»

#CatalanGP 2026

Back