The Moto3 world championship is now half way through an Asia-Pacific leg of the 2025 season. The 18th round of the season took place at the scenic Mandalika Circuit sited alongside the Indian Ocean. The previous race in Japan and the recent event in Indonesia was the first time South African rider Ruche Moodley has raced in the east.
“Mandalika is a beautiful circuit that was designed specifically for motorcycle racing. From what I’ve seen on TV it has great flow, so I was really looking forward to riding my BOE Motorsports KTM there,” said the SA teenage riding sensation in the days leading up to the race.
But the race weekend started off badly as less-than-ideal water quality in Lombok left many in the MotoGP paddock feeling worse for wear. This included Ruche who struggled with a tummy bug shortly after his arrival.
Practice sessions on Friday were all about learning the new circuit. The unfamiliar circuit and poor health left Moodley languishing at the tail-end of the field. “It was a real challenge to get to grips with the track as it is quite slippery off line,” said Moodley. “If you were just a few centimetres off the ideal racing line you were losing time. And it really didn’t help that I was low on energy as well.”
However, Moodley felt his confidence grow with each passing lap, knowing that he had plenty of pace in hand as the weekend progressed, and it showed on the timesheets. Ruche was the quickest rider in the Q1 session, which earned him a pass into Q2. In the shootout for pole position, Moodley set the 18th quickest time, which was where he’d start Sunday’s race.
His start on Sunday was one of the best of his rookie season. From 18th place on the grid, he had a straight shot down to the inside of T1 and he made the best of it.
“I timed the race start perfectly and made a great launch. The path to T1 opened for me as most riders moved over to the left side of the track, trying to take the racing line into the right-hander at T1, but I stayed on the right. It felt great as I passed about half a dozen riders by the time we got to T1.” Moodley was lying in 15th place when the field completed the opening tour.
The teenager put his head down and knew that there would be attrition as the race progressed in hot and humid conditions. As the field strung out, he found himself just off the leading pack with seasoned campaigner Dennis Foggia for company.
“I could see the leaders ahead as Dennis (Foggia) and I battled lap after lap. I’d get by him for a few laps, then he’d get ahead of me. We battled hard but fair as we gave each other enough room. It felt great to be keeping pace with a strong rider such as Dennis.”
Positions were swapped lap after lap. And as some ahead faltered, the pair progressed up the leaderboard. Moodley found himself in P12 with just six laps of the 20-lap race left to run. “It was incredible to see P12 on my pit board. But I had to maintain my concentration as there were still a few laps left to race.”
Moodley dropped down to 14th, then gained a position. The race ended prematurely as red flags flew for a nasty accident. Moodley’s official classification was 13th, with a handful of points for his efforts, despite feeling unwell and experiencing low energy levels.
“It was a really positive weekend for us. This is the form I was enjoying before the injury troubles around mid-year. It feels fantastic to be back in the points. It was also good to make progress through the race weekend, even if I felt miserable most of the time, getting faster with each passing session. That is very important for a rookie, such as myself,” concluded Moodley.
Published by: Double Apex on behalf of Ruche Moodley.
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