The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar rider Máximo Quiles secures his first world title with five races to go by winning the race in Indonesia
The boy who takes his name from the main character of ‘Gladiator’, who first got on a minibike at the age of four, who began his career on a piece of wasteland in Murcia, and who has worn Luis Salom’s number 39 on his leathers for years, has today in Indonesia brought one of the most intense chapters of his life story to a close by winning the Moto3 title. Máximo, who had always seen motorbikes at home, has this time been the star of a story just like the ones he used to watch on television. The dream of a young – very young – rider has come true today in Indonesia after winning the race by a margin of almost three seconds.
Quiles is a homebody who loves cats (especially his Puchi and Pucho), and when he’s not at the circuits, he prefers to spend time with his family. From a young age, he was infected with the ‘motorbike bug’ at home: his father even raced in La Bañeza, and Sundays were always spent watching races on the TV. If he hadn’t gone into motorcycling, he knows he would have taken up any kind of sport, mainly one on wheels, whether motorised or cycling.
Born in 2008, he has followed his idol, a certain Marc Márquez, throughout his career. Going from watching him on television to working with him and his brother Álex marked the beginning of another dream. In late 2022, after winning the final race of the Rookies Cup, his father gave him some great news: the Márquez family wanted to support him. It was a whirlwind of emotions to round off an incredible year and kick off another that would be even better: with the Aspar Team Junior, the young Quiles won five races on his way to his second European Talent Cup title – something no one had ever achieved before.
At the end of the year, he had to put his relationship with the Aspar Team on hold, but their paths were destined to cross again. In a season in which he juggled the Rookies Cup with the JuniorGP, just one victory in the final race of the year, at Estoril, secured him third place overall in the Moto3 Junior World Championship, which allowed him to compete in the JuniorGP; the victory at Estoril, in the final race of the season, enabled him to finish in the top three and, as a result, earn the chance to race in the World Championship when he turned 17, rather than having to wait until he was 18.
In his early days on the World Championship circuit, comparisons with Marc began to emerge. His first pole position, at Le Mans – just like Márquez. His first podium, in England – just like Márquez. His first victory? At Mugello – just like Márquez. But Quiles was determined to write his own story from the very start, and in his debut season alone he made it onto the podium a total of nine times, three of which were on the top step. Final result: third in the World Championship, 91 points behind. And that was despite missing four races at the start of the season. He was showing real promise.
With neither the 2025 champion nor the runner-up in the field, he was the clear favourite. He’s had 1.999 seconds to spare this year. That’s the difference that prevented him from winning every race this season. The three thousandths of a second in Thailand stung badly, but the ‘disaster’ at Mugello – 1.2 seconds off victory – stung almost as much.
The injury at Silverstone? It was an opportunity. It taught him to pace himself, not to take risks when he didn’t need to, because the points are awarded on Sunday. On his return, he was raring to go, but he built up his form gradually… and ended up winning at Aragón. And at Misano. And in Austria. Out of seventeen races, he has won ten. Three of them in a row, on two separate occasions. Something that, in Moto3, only David Alonso had managed in 2024.
He says he doesn’t care about records, that he doesn’t go looking for them. But today he has become the second rider with the most wins in the category’s history and is the seventh to achieve ten victories in a single year in the junior class. He is the only rider to have scored 351 points after the first sixteen races of the season (the record was held by David Alonso, who scored 346 points in 2024). Furthermore, he is the only rider to have finished in the points in 28 (it had to be 28) consecutive races in the Moto3 category. At the age of 18, he already knows a thing or two about records.
Now, following a dazzling spell in Moto3, Quiles remains hungry. He wants more. In 2027, he will make the leap to Moto2, once again with the CFMOTO Aspar Team – the family that has watched him grow from a 15-year-old ‘little lad’ into a mature, thoughtful rider with a clear vision and a single goal in mind: to win.
A record-breaking start to the decade for Aspar
The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team has been the clear dominant force in the junior category since 2020. It has secured four championships: Albert Arenas (2020), Izan Guevara (2022), David Alonso (2024) and Máximo Quiles (2026). It has won 48 of the last 132 races, more than 35 per cent of the races contested during this period.
Over the years, the team has played a key role in four of the last five manufacturers’ world titles. It even won two of them solely on the back of its riders’ points. At the same time, the team has secured two world team titles. This season, it is in contention for a third: it holds a 103-point lead with 225 points still up for grabs. The aim: the double in Moto3.
