Moto3 once again proved that rules, grid penalties and starting positions are sometimes just polite suggestions. After a weekend full of steward decisions and slow-sector penalties, Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) looked at a 12-place grid penalty and decided to treat it more like a minor inconvenience than an actual punishment.

Starting from 14th on the grid, the Malaysian rookie carved his way through the field to claim his maiden Moto3 victory and become the first Malaysian rider to win in the class since Khairul Idham Pawi back at Sachsenring in 2016. He is also the first Malaysian rider to win in the dry.

Before the race even began, several riders had been handed penalties after slow sectors in qualifying exceeded 135% of the session benchmark. Danish, Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia), Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) all received 12-place grid penalties after repeat offences, while Eddie O’Shea (GRYD Racing), David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing) and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) escaped with warnings. Leo Rammerstorfer (SIC58 Squadra Corse) also collected a Long Lap Penalty for dangerous slow riding after interfering with Cormac Buchanan during Free Practice 2. Casual Moto3 weekend things.

When the lights went out, polesitter David Almansa looked to have nailed the launch, but Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) had other ideas and stole the holeshot immediately. By the end of the opening lap, it already looked like the front group had no intention of waiting around for the rest of the field. Quiles, Almansa and Red Bull KTM Ajo teammates Alvaro Carpe and Brian Uriarte quickly pulled clear, but there was one rapidly approaching problem in the mirrors. Danish had gone from 14th to fifth by Lap 2 and clearly hadn’t read the memo saying penalties are supposed to make life difficult.

He wasn’t arriving alone either. Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) had followed him through and suddenly a four-rider battle had become six, before Veda Pratama decided he wanted in too. Starting from 20th after his own grid penalty, Pratama quietly appeared in the front group by Lap 5 like he’d simply teleported there. Seven riders at the front, multiple lead changes and everyone swapping places every few corners — Moto3 was doing Moto3 things.

Almansa briefly reclaimed the lead at Turn 1 on Lap 6, but it didn’t last long. O’Gorman’s race ended with a crash at Turn 9, reducing the front battle back down by one. The lead continued changing hands almost every lap. Uriarte moved to the front before Quiles took over again, while Carpe got aggressive with Almansa at Turn 4 and ran him wide, briefly splitting the pack apart.As the race entered the final laps, nobody looked safe. Almansa was attacking, Quiles was defending like his life depended on it, and Carpe eventually made a mistake that allowed Quiles, Uriarte and Danish to break away slightly.

Then came the final lap.

Because of course Moto3 wasn’t going to make things simple.

Contact between Quiles and Uriarte at Turn 8 opened the door, and Danish immediately threw himself through the gap. Suddenly the rider who started 14th was leading when it mattered most. Five riders went charging towards the final sector looking like they had collectively forgotten braking markers existed. Into the final corner it was practically elbows and fairings everywhere, but nobody was getting close enough to stop Danish.

From a 12-place grid penalty to standing on the top step, the Malaysian rookie delivered an absolute masterclass.

Uriarte won the fight for second place ahead of Championship leader Quiles, while Almansa somehow slipped from second to fourth in the final corners despite looking set for another podium. Pratama completed another of the comeback rides of the afternoon in fifth after starting 20th, while Carpe crossed the line sixth after losing ground in the closing laps.

Further back, Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) produced an excellent recovery ride from 17th on the grid to seventh, while Joel Kelso secured his best finish of the 2026 season in eighth for GRYD Racing. Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) collected his second top-ten finish of the year in ninth, with Perrone rounding out the top ten.

Just outside the top ten, Matteo Bertelle (LEVEL UP – MTA) finished 11th ahead of Adrian Cruces (CIP Green Power), Marcos Uriarte (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Ryusei Yamanaka (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI), who completed the points-paying positions.

Elsewhere, it wasn’t the easiest afternoon for everyone. Eddie O’Shea and Rico Salmela crashed out on the final lap, while Nicola Carraro, Rammerstorfer, O’Gorman and Joel Esteban also failed to make it to the chequered flag.

Before the lights had even gone out in Hungary, the Moto3 paddock had already been thrown into drama. On Friday, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), who had been running third in the Championship, was disqualified from the first six Grands Prix of the season after engine seal irregularities, reshuffling the standings before the weekend began. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was also removed from the Catalunya results after his oil failed post-race checks due to assembly fluid being present. Add in David Almansa’s (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) return from illness, having missed Mugello despite originally taking pole, and Hungary arrived with no shortage of storylines before lights went out in the Grand Prix.

Once attention turned to qualifying, it was Almansa who delivered the perfect response to his recent setback. A week after withdrawing from the Italian GP through illness, where he had been due to start from pole, the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP rider returned to the top with a 1’45.686 at Balaton Park. In hospital on Wednesday and putting it on the front row on Saturday, these guys really are built different. Almansa and Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) were in a class of their own throughout qualifying, pulling more than half a second clear of the chasing pack and separated by just six hundredths. Uriarte came through Q1 and made it count to complete the front row for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

When the race finally got underway, Almansa launched perfectly from pole and grabbed the holeshot ahead of Quiles, immediately recreating the early-season duel that had shaped the opening rounds. Behind them, however, chaos arrived almost instantly.

At Turn 2, Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) crashed after contact with Matteo Bertelle (LEVEL UP – MTA), with Joel Esteban (LEVEL UP – MTA) also caught up in the incident. More drama followed at Turn 5 when Ruche Moodley (CODE Motorsports) collided with Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI). Moodley’s race was over before the first lap was complete, while Danish was able to rejoin after a trip through the pits, only to later receive the black-and-orange flag.

Once the first laps were completed, Almansa and Quiles began to edge away at the front, while Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) slotted into third and fourth. Salmela soon moved into the final podium position at Turn 5 on Lap 4 and set off in pursuit of the leading duo. Behind the front four, the recovery rides were already in motion. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Muñoz, both starting from the sixth row, were carving their way through the pack and had quickly placed themselves back into contention. By Lap 7, the change for the lead arrived as Quiles made his move on Almansa at Turn 9.

Into the second half of the race, the battle for victory became increasingly settled. Quiles continued to edge away setting the fastest lap, while Almansa held a comfortable advantage over the pack behind. The real fight was for the final podium spot, where Carpe, Muñoz, Perrone, Salmela and Uriarte all became locked together. Carpe’s ride from 18th on the grid was one of the performances of the race. After starting deep in the pack, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider forced his way into the podium battle and eventually moved into third. With five laps remaining, Quiles had stretched his lead over Almansa to more than a second, while the scrap behind them only grew more intense.

By the final lap, Uriarte had moved ahead of his teammate into fourth and was chasing Muñoz. Then came a frightening end to the race. Contact between Carpe and Muñoz on the exit of Turn 11 triggered a multiple-rider incident involving Muñoz, Perrone and Uriarte. Muñoz crashed directly in front of Perrone and Uriarte, with both riders unable to avoid contact, both running over the Spaniard. The red flag was shown just half a lap from full distance.

With the race result declared, Quiles returned to the top step of the podium and extended his Championship advantage with a composed victory at Balaton Park. It was his second consecutive Moto3 win in Hungary, but unlike some of his recent triumphs, this one came without a last-lap battle. Almansa finished second, marking his first podium since his Buriram victory and a strong comeback after the disappointment of missing Mugello. Carpe completed the podium after a superb charge from the sixth row, keeping his bike upright despite the late incident.

Uriarte was classified fourth, ahead of Salmela, who secured a career-best fifth place. The result was also Finland’s best Moto3 finish since Niklas Ajo’s fifth place at Mugello in 2014. Adrian Cruces (CIP Green Power) delivered an excellent ride to sixth, converting his career-best qualifying into a career-best race result.

Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) came home seventh, with Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team) finishing eighth as the top Honda rider. Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) claimed ninth, while Fernandez rounded out the top ten after a turbulent week for both rider and team. Just outside the top ten, Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) took 11th ahead of Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing), Esteban, Cormac Buchanan (CODE Motorsports) and Bertelle, who completed the points-paying positions.

David Muñoz was taken to a local hospital for full checks, with his team later confirming on social media that he had sustained fractures to his pelvis and was undergoing surgery on Sunday evening. Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery and be back in the paddock later in the season.

Mugello produced another classic Moto3 showdown, and this time it was Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who rose above the chaos. The 17 year old delivered a superb final-lap performance to take his maiden Grand Prix victory, leading home teammate Alvaro Carpe for a Red Bull KTM Ajo one-two. Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) completed the podium after an impressive ride from pole position, securing his first Moto3 rostrum.

The drama had started before race day. Qualifying proved costly for several riders, with many leaving their final runs too late and failing to make it back around for one last flying lap before the session ended. Joel Kelso (GRYD – MLav Racing), however, timed his run well and secured a front-row start. David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) had claimed pole position, but was later forced to withdraw from the race due to tonsillitis, handing Danish the top spot on the grid.

Danish made the most of the opportunity when the lights went out, launching cleanly from the front and leading the field into the opening corners. His time at the head of the race was brief, though, as Kelso quickly attacked and moved into the lead before the first lap was complete. Joel Esteban (LEVEL UP – MTA) also made early progress, passing Danish for second, while Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) ended the opening lap down in 14th.

The championship leader wasted little time working his way forward. By the fourth lap, Quiles had climbed into the top eight, while Uriarte used Mugello’s famous slipstream to charge into the lead. From that point, the front of the race became a constant rotation, with Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), Carpe and Quiles all taking turns at the front.

Eddie O’Shea (GRYD – MLav Racing) soon became one of the race’s standout stories. After steadily climbing through the lead pack, he hit the front on Lap 13 to lead a Moto3 race for the first time. The moment did not last long, with Fernandez, Quiles and Kelso all responding quickly, but it underlined another impressive step forward for the Brit who spoke positively of his performance after the race.

At the final corner on the penultimate lap, Quiles suffered a huge rear-end slide that lifted him out of the seat and dropped him outside the top ten. After looking ready to fight for another win, he was suddenly left scrambling to rescue points. As the final lap began, Uriarte chose his moment perfectly. The rookie made his decisive move through the Casanova-Savelli section, taking the lead and then benefiting from the fierce scrap unfolding behind him. While Fernandez, Carpe, Danish and the rest of the group fought for podium positions, Uriarte found clear track at exactly the right time.

He did not waste the chance.

The #51 kept his composure through the final sector and crossed the line to claim his first Moto3 victory, a breakthrough result on one of the most demanding and unpredictable circuits on the calendar. Behind him, Carpe emerged from the late battle in second to complete a dream result for Red Bull KTM Ajo, while Danish held on for a brilliant first podium in the class.

Fernandez was shuffled out of the podium places on the final lap and had to settle for fourth, though it still proved a valuable result with Quiles finishing outside the top ten. Esteban came home fifth, with O’Shea taking a career-best sixth despite losing ground in the last-lap fight.

David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) finished seventh, ahead of Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia), Kelso and Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team), who completed the top ten.

Just outside the top ten, Quiles salvaged five important championship points in eleventh after his late scare, finishing ahead of Matteo Bertelle (LEVEL UP – MTA) in twelth. Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) followed in thirteenth after also running wide in the final-corner shuffle, while Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) claimed fourteenth. Home favorite Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) completed the points in 15th after losing ground late on.