Rico Salmela

Rico Lucas Alexander Salmela (born 14 February 2008) is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who competes in the Moto3 World Championship for Tech3 Racing. He is a race winner of the FIM JuniorGP World Championship and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

Career Early career Salmela was born in Nokia, Finland. He excelled in national and later international classes in the Netherlands and Spain, and was selected by the Estrella Galicia program to compete in the 2021 European Talent Cup season, at the age of 13. He scored top-ten finishes from the opening race of the season and went on to finish 13th overall in the standings. His Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season was very competitive, clinching two podiums in total, one of them being his maiden win at MotorLand Aragón. He finished seventh in the final standings. Meanwhile, in the European Talent Cup, Salmela earned his first podium at Estoril, with a third-place finish, followed by another third in the next round at Valencia. He ended the season eighth overall. His final position in the standings was fourth. In the European Talent Cup, he also placed fourth overall, after a season with two podiums and consistent top-ten finishes.

For 2024, Salmela participated in his last Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season, while also stepping up to the FIM JuniorGP World Championship with Intact GP, on a Husqvarna. He finished his Rookies Cup season in fourth place overall, claiming four podiums, one pole position and no victories. At the same time, Salmela earned his maiden win in the JuniorGP in the second round at Estoril. He claimed several top-ten finishes through the remainder of the season but also suffered retirements, and finished 13th overall in the standings.

Salmela returned to the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 to race in the 2025 FIM JuniorGP World Championship, making the switch to a Honda NSF250R. He finished on the podium in the opening five races of the calendar.

Moto3 World Championship Red Bull KTM Tech3 (2026)

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 BAR ALG ARA ARA JER JER VAL VAL 13th 41 2022 Honda EST EST VAL VAL BAR JER JER ALG ARA ARA VAL 8th 78 2023 Honda EST EST VAL VAL JER JER ALG BAR ARA ARA VAL 4th 109

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies 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 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2022 KTM ALG ALG JER JER MUG MUG SAC SAC RBR RBR ARA ARA VAL VAL 7th 122 2023 KTM ALG ALG JER JER LMS LMS MUG MUG ASS ASS RBR RBR MIS MIS 4th 136 2024 KTM JER JER LMS LMS MUG MUG ASS ASS RBR RBR ARA ARA MIS MIS 4th 162

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 2024 Husqvarna MIS1 MIS2 EST CAT1 CAT2 ALG1 ALG2 JER1 JER2 ARA EST1 EST2 13th 61 2025 Honda EST JER1 JER2 MAG ARA1 ARA2 MIS1 MIS2 CAT1 CAT2 VAL1 VAL2 5th 135

Grand Prix motorcycle racing By season

By class Class Seasons 1st GP 1st pod 1st win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp Moto3 2026–present 2026 Thailand 12 0 0 0 0 60 0 Total 2026–present 12 0 0 0 0 60 0

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Pos Pts Moto3 KTM THA BRA USA SPA FRA CAT ITA HUN CZE NED GER GBR ARA RSM AUT JPN INA AUS MAL QAT POR VAL 10th* 60*

Season still in progress.