Ruche Moodley took to his first Moto3 race with a cool confidence and a sound strategy and went from P19 to a P11 finish, earning points towards the championship.
Buriram, Thailand (06 March 2025) – Making his debut at the Moto3 opening round in Thailand, Ruché Moodley faced challenging conditions and managed to earn his first points in the championship.
The Gqeberha local made his way to Southeast Asia last week for the opening round of the 2025 Moto3 season. He raced at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, a first time seeing the track and had a painful crash on his second practice run, but he shook it all off and shifted his mindset for the qualifier.
“I was a little sore after the high-side crash, but thankfully I was not injured. I knew there was still plenty to play for over the rest of the weekend,” said Moodley.
Qualifying 19th on the grid, the start of the race came with chaotic and aggressive moves which pushed Ruche back a few spaces, but he kept cool and pushed forward.
“I knew that I had to be smart about the race and my strategy was not to go crazy from the opening lap.” And it worked.
Every lap, he pushed his way forward, keeping cool. Several leading riders retired from the race early, giving Ruche the edge to push ahead. By the final lap, he was contending for P10, and after a nail-biting finish, he earned P11 and five points to boot!
“The race was very tough physically and mentally. It’s by far the hottest race I’ve ever competed in. I tried really hard to defend into the final corner. I was a bit disappointed to be overtaken because I was really close to a top 10 finish.
“But overall, it was a positive weekend as I gained a lot of experience and confidence. This is just the beginning of a long season. I am happy about how we have started and we will continue growing from here. I am hungry for more,” concluded Moodley.
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