After a promising start to his Moto3 Championship journey in 2025, Gqeberha’s Ruche Moodley suffered an injury at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto in Cadiz, Spain, on Sunday.
Moodley is the sole SA representative competing in the 2025 Moto3 championship and the teenager has scored points in every round he has contested, making an impressive start to his maiden season at the world championship level.
A promising weekend in Spain ended without him completing a single racing lap.
Moodley’s race ended at the sixth turn of the opening lap after a collision which also involved David Almansa and David Muñoz.
Moodley’s father, Arushen, confirmed his son was preparing for surgery to a broken wrist, which is likely to keep him out of action for some time.
“It seems Ruche couldn’t slow the bike down using the gears,” he said.
“He was carrying a lot of speed into turn six, so he had to lift the bike, but two other riders were already running wide and he collided heavily with them.
“We’ll have to check the data to find out if it was a mechanical failure.
“After medical evaluations, it was confirmed that he suffered a fractured wrist.
“He’s now heading off to Barcelona to undergo surgery.”
The fifth round on the calendar took place at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto in Spain and it was the first race in a 12-round European leg of the 2025 schedule.
More importantly, it was the first time Moodley would be competing in Moto3 on a circuit which he had previously raced on.
And the familiarity of the 4,42km layout showed straight away as Moodley registered the fifth-quickest time in the opening practice session (FP1).
That time would have made some of his more seasoned rivals sit up and take notice of the newcomer as Moodley’s hot pace continued into the second session, where he registered the ninth-quickest time.
The MotoGP series uses a unique qualifying system.
The top 10 times registered in FP2 give riders a free pass directly into the second stage of qualifying (Q2), for the pole position shoot-out.
The rest of the field have to fight in Q1 for their grid positions, as well as a few remaining spots in the Q2 session.
A similar concept has been applied to Moto3, however, the top 14 riders in FP2 ensure a rider’s immediate pass into Q2.
Moodley’s FP2 lap time was fast enough to make his maiden progression straight into Q2.
However, his plans to progress up the starting grid were almost immediately halted when mechanical issues set in.
A broken gearbox meant he completed only two timed runs in the Q2 session.
This left him in 15th place, still recording his best qualifying performance for the year.
“I knew we had the pace to move up the order during qualifying.
“It’s a pity we suffered a gearbox failure,” the dejected but optimistic teen said.
“The weekend started well,” BOE Motorsport team owner Jose Angel Gutiérrez said.
“Ruche impressed all of us with his pace from the first lap, and it was the first time he was within the top five, and he was consistent in every session.
“Unfortunately, the race was a completely different story, and he could not show his real pace.
“In his crash, he injured himself and this is something we never want to see with any rider.
“Sometimes motorsport shows its most dangerous version.
“Now, all we hope is that Ruche has a speedy recovery and we can have him back in our box and riding our bike soon.”
The Herald
Injury setback for Nelson Mandela Bay biking sensation Moodley
Image: BOE Motorsports
After a promising start to his Moto3 Championship journey in 2025, Gqeberha’s Ruche Moodley suffered an injury at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto in Cadiz, Spain, on Sunday.
Moodley is the sole SA representative competing in the 2025 Moto3 championship and the teenager has scored points in every round he has contested, making an impressive start to his maiden season at the world championship level.
A promising weekend in Spain ended without him completing a single racing lap.
Moodley’s race ended at the sixth turn of the opening lap after a collision which also involved David Almansa and David Muñoz.
Moodley’s father, Arushen, confirmed his son was preparing for surgery to a broken wrist, which is likely to keep him out of action for some time.
“It seems Ruche couldn’t slow the bike down using the gears,” he said.
“He was carrying a lot of speed into turn six, so he had to lift the bike, but two other riders were already running wide and he collided heavily with them.
“We’ll have to check the data to find out if it was a mechanical failure.
“After medical evaluations, it was confirmed that he suffered a fractured wrist.
“He’s now heading off to Barcelona to undergo surgery.”
The fifth round on the calendar took place at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto in Spain and it was the first race in a 12-round European leg of the 2025 schedule.
More importantly, it was the first time Moodley would be competing in Moto3 on a circuit which he had previously raced on.
And the familiarity of the 4,42km layout showed straight away as Moodley registered the fifth-quickest time in the opening practice session (FP1).
That time would have made some of his more seasoned rivals sit up and take notice of the newcomer as Moodley’s hot pace continued into the second session, where he registered the ninth-quickest time.
The MotoGP series uses a unique qualifying system.
The top 10 times registered in FP2 give riders a free pass directly into the second stage of qualifying (Q2), for the pole position shoot-out.
The rest of the field have to fight in Q1 for their grid positions, as well as a few remaining spots in the Q2 session.
A similar concept has been applied to Moto3, however, the top 14 riders in FP2 ensure a rider’s immediate pass into Q2.
Moodley’s FP2 lap time was fast enough to make his maiden progression straight into Q2.
However, his plans to progress up the starting grid were almost immediately halted when mechanical issues set in.
A broken gearbox meant he completed only two timed runs in the Q2 session.
This left him in 15th place, still recording his best qualifying performance for the year.
“I knew we had the pace to move up the order during qualifying.
“It’s a pity we suffered a gearbox failure,” the dejected but optimistic teen said.
“The weekend started well,” BOE Motorsport team owner Jose Angel Gutiérrez said.
“Ruche impressed all of us with his pace from the first lap, and it was the first time he was within the top five, and he was consistent in every session.
“Unfortunately, the race was a completely different story, and he could not show his real pace.
“In his crash, he injured himself and this is something we never want to see with any rider.
“Sometimes motorsport shows its most dangerous version.
“Now, all we hope is that Ruche has a speedy recovery and we can have him back in our box and riding our bike soon.”
The Herald
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