If there was any doubt that Moto3 would deliver another thriller before the summer break, Sachsenring quickly put that to bed. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) turned pole position into his second Grand Prix victory of the season after fending off Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) in a tense final-lap duel. Behind them, Matteo Bertelle (LEVEL UP – MTA) left his move until the very end to snatch another podium finish.

The weekend had already been eventful before Sunday arrived. Quiles escaped a heavy crash at Turn 7 during practice, while Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) suffered a violent highside at the same corner that left Adrian Cruces (CIP Green Power) with nowhere to go. Thankfully, both riders walked away.

David Almansa’s (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) weekend never really got going. The Spaniard missed Friday’s running after developing a fever, briefly returned for Free Practice 2, but was later forced to withdraw from the remainder of the Grand Prix weekend.

Qualifying belonged to the rookies. Uriarte secured his first Moto3 pole position ahead of Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) and Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), creating an all-rookie front row. Five rookies filled the top eight on the grid, while Kiwi Cormac Buchanan (CODE Motorsports) celebrated his best qualifying result of the season with 11th.

When the lights went out, Uriarte wasted no time converting pole into the race lead. Danish initially tucked into second before Morelli muscled his way through at Turn 7, but the opening laps soon produced the first slice of Moto3 chaos.

At the start of Lap 2, contact between Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Marcos Uriarte (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) sent Perrone crashing out. Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing) and Nicola Carraro (Rivacold Snipers Team) were also forced into the gravel while trying to avoid the incident. Perrone looked sore after the crash but was later seen back in his garage, while Kelso, Carraro and Marcos Uriarte all managed to continue.

At the front, five riders began to edge away from the rest of the field. Uriarte led the train from Quiles, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Morelli, with nobody prepared to give an inch.

Further back, Casey O’Gorman’s (SIC58 Squadra Corse) race ended with a crash before Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) also hit the ground a lap later. Ogden managed to restart and continue, Cruces crashed heavily, leaving Joel Esteban (LEVEL UP – MTA) with nowhere to escape. Esteban collided with the fallen machine and both riders slid into the gravel, bringing another heart-in-mouth moment to an already hectic race.

The fight at the front continued to intensify. Carpe looked set to challenge for another podium until one of the biggest saves of the season. A huge moment at Turn 7 almost launched the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider into the air, but somehow he wrestled the KTM back under control. The spectacular save cost him valuable time and dropped him out of podium contention.
A few laps later it was Uriarte’s turn to make a mistake. Running wide at Turn 2 briefly handed the lead to Quiles, although the Championship leader couldn’t make it stick for long as Uriarte reclaimed first place just a handful of corners later.

While all eyes were fixed on the battle for victory, Bertelle quietly worked his way into podium contention. The Italian reeled in Morelli and Salmela before moving into fourth with just a handful of laps remaining, putting himself firmly in the fight for the final podium position.

With four laps to go, Quiles attacked again to reclaim the lead, setting up a fascinating head-to-head between the two title contenders. Every lap they traded fastest sectors, every corner they searched for an opening, but neither rider could break the other.

As expected, it all came down to the final lap.

Quiles led across the line to start the last tour but a small front-end moment at Turn 3 proved costly. Uriarte needed no second invitation, diving through into the lead before immediately defending every inch of the Sachsenring circuit.

Behind them, Bertelle, Morelli and Salmela were locked in their own battle. As the trio powered towards the chequered flag, Bertelle timed the slipstream perfectly to steal third place by just seven thousandths of a second, denying Morelli a maiden Moto3 podium.

Uriarte crossed the line to secure his second Grand Prix victory of the year, while Quiles settled for second. Despite missing out on the win, the Championship leader extended his advantage once again and heads into the summer break firmly in control of the title race. Bertelle completed the podium after another intelligent race, while Morelli narrowly missed out in fourth. Salmela continued his impressive rookie campaign with fifth, matching his career-best Moto3 result.

Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) was the highest-finishing Honda rider in sixth ahead of Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team). Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) collected more valuable championship points in eighth, Ryusei Yamanaka (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) celebrated his first top-ten finish of the season in ninth, and Eddie O’Shea (GRYD Racing) rounded out the top ten.

Just outside the top ten, Carpe recovered to salvage 11th after his spectacular near-highside. Danish crossed the line 12th ahead of Buchanan, Kelso and Pini, who completed the points-paying positions.