Joel Esteban

Joel Esteban Ruiz (born 7 August 2005) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer for LevelUp – MTA in the 2026 Moto3 World Championship.

Career

European Talent Cup

In 2021, Esteban's debut season in the European Talent Cup, he managed to step onto the podium in his first race at Circuito do Estoril, which was his only podium of the season. With a consistent year and a fastest lap at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, he finished eighth in the championship with 85 points. His debut season caught the attention of the Aspar Junior Team, who signed him for the 2022 European Talent Cup.

The second round at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo followed a similar pattern, with Esteban winning both races from pole position before a disqualification from the latter for a technical infringement. He extended his championship lead more at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, getting another pole position and finish on the podium with second place.

Esteban's championship charge was brought to an abrupt halt, as illness would cause him to miss the two races of the next round at Circuito de Jerez. On his return, Esteban came second at Algarve International Circuit, fifth in the first race at MotorLand Aragón, and third in the second race.

In the final round of the season at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Esteban finished third and recorded the final fastest lap of the season, ultimately losing the championship to Guido Pini by seven points.

FIM JuniorGP World Championship

2023

With Aspar Junior Team, Esteban moved up to the FIM JuniorGP World Championship for the 2023 season. Esteban got his first pole positions in the second round at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, coming second in the first race – getting his first podium, and retiring from the second race.

At the fourth round of the series in Algarve International Circuit, Esteban collected his first win and fastest lap in the second race. A round later, he would snatch another podium in form of a third place at the second race in Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where he also got another fastest lap.

Esteban retired from the next round at MotorLand Aragón, and in the final round of the series at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, he came seventh in the first race, bagging a fastest lap, and won the final race of the season. Esteban finished fourth in the championship with 132 points.

2025

After a difficult campaign in the 2024 Moto3 World Championship, Esteban returned to JuniorGP for the 2025 season with Aspar Junior Team.

Esteban got his first win of the year at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, the third round of the series, where he also got the fastest lap.

Moto3 World Championship

2024

For 2024, Esteban made the leap to the Moto3 World Championship with the CFMoto Aspar Team and partnered the season's record-breaking champion David Alonso. He opened the season with several point-scoring finishes, including fourth at the 2024 French motorcycle Grand Prix. His form tailed off in the second half of the season, where he retired from his last two races at Thailand and Malaysia, as he couldn't compete in the final round of the championship at the 2024 Solidarity motorcycle Grand Prix due to injury and was replaced by Marcos Uriarte. Esteban finished the season in 17th with 45 points.

2025 Esteban served as a replacement rider for the 2025 Moto3 World Championship. He first replaced Jacob Roulstone at Red Bull KTM Tech3, who missed the first two rounds of the season due to a neck injury sustained at a private training session. At the 2025 Thailand motorcycle Grand Prix, Esteban finished ninth and at the 2025 Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix he ended sixteenth.

Not long after, he was called up at CFMoto Aspar Team to replace Máximo Quiles in the fourth and fifth rounds after a medical check ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend revealed a thumb fracture, sustained during a pre-weekend training incident but initially overlooked. Esteban retired from both the Qatar and Spanish Grands Prix.

One round later, Esteban was called up to replace Leopard Racing rider Adrián Fernández at the 2025 British motorcycle Grand Prix, the seventh round of the season; he did not finish the race.

Career statistics

European Talent Cup

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts 2021 Honda EST EST VAL VAL CAT POR ARA ARA JER JER VAL VAL 8th 85 2022 Honda EST EST VAL VAL CAT JER JER POR ARA ARA VAL 2nd 158

FIM JuniorGP World Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts 2023 Gas Gas EST VAL1 VAL2 JER1 JER2 ALG1 ALG2 BAR1 BAR2 ARA VAL3 VAL4 4th 132 2025 CFMoto EST JER1 JER2 MAG ARA1 ARA2 MIS1 MIS2 BAR1 BAR2 VAL1 VAL2 3rd 146

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp Moto3 2024–present 2024 Qatar 39 0 0 1 1 137 0 Total 2024–present 39 0 0 1 1 137 0

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.