Rico Salmela
| Rico Salmela | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Finnish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 February 2008 Nokia, Finland[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Tech3 Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bike number | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rico Lucas Alexander Salmela (born 14 February 2008) is a Finnish motorcycle racer who is set to compete in the 2026 Moto3 World Championship for Tech3 Racing.[2] 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. Influenced by his father, Tero, who was a successful supermoto and motocross racer, he started riding motocross minibikes at the age of two and later switched to road racing at the age of five.[3] 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.[4][5] He scored top-ten finishes from the opening race of the season and went on to finish 13th overall in the standings.[3]
After his performances in 2021, Salmela was selected to compete in the 2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, as he entered his second European Talent Cup season.[6][7] 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.[8][9] 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.[10] He ended the season eighth overall.[3]
Salmela continued in both series for 2023. In the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup he showed consistency by earning four podiums in total, with one second and three third places. He was on pole position at the Austrian and Misano rounds.[11][12] 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.[13]
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.[14][1] He finished his Rookies Cup season in fourth place overall, claiming four podiums, one pole position and no victories.[15][16] At the same time, Salmela earned his maiden win in the JuniorGP in the second round at Estoril.[17] 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.[18] He finished on the podium in the opening five races of the calendar.[19][20]
Moto3 World Championship
Red Bull KTM Tech3 (2026)
On 22 September 2025, Tech3 announced Salmela would be joining their lineup for the 2026 Moto3 World Championship season, alongside Valentín Perrone.[2]
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 6 |
EST 7 |
VAL 15 |
VAL 14 |
BAR 17 |
ALG 12 |
ARA 10 |
ARA C |
JER 6 |
JER Ret |
VAL Ret |
VAL Ret |
13th | 41 |
| 2022 | Honda | EST Ret |
EST 3 |
VAL 3 |
VAL 4 |
BAR 12 |
JER 5 |
JER 12 |
ALG 13 |
ARA 14 |
ARA 16 |
VAL 7 |
8th | 78 | |
| 2023 | Honda | EST 2 |
EST 6 |
VAL 3 |
VAL 7 |
JER 5 |
JER 7 |
ALG 4 |
BAR Ret |
ARA 4 |
ARA 8 |
VAL Ret |
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 Ret |
ALG 5 |
JER 7 |
JER 11 |
MUG 3 |
MUG 7 |
SAC 8 |
SAC 5 |
RBR Ret |
RBR 9 |
ARA 1 |
ARA Ret |
VAL 6 |
VAL 5 |
7th | 122 |
| 2023 | KTM | ALG 3 |
ALG 5 |
JER 5 |
JER 5 |
LMS 2 |
LMS Ret |
MUG 12 |
MUG 4 |
ASS 20 |
ASS 11 |
RBR 3 |
RBR 3 |
MIS Ret |
MIS 4 |
4th | 136 |
| 2024 | KTM | JER 5 |
JER 5 |
LMS 2 |
LMS 20 |
MUG Ret |
MUG 4 |
ASS 2 |
ASS 3 |
RBR 5 |
RBR 7 |
ARA 5 |
ARA 3 |
MIS 4 |
MIS 5 |
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 16 |
MIS2 Ret |
EST 1 |
CAT1 16 |
CAT2 Ret |
ALG1 Ret |
ALG2 5 |
JER1 5 |
JER2 Ret |
ARA 8 |
EST1 Ret |
EST2 10 |
13th | 61 |
| 2025 | Honda | EST 3 |
JER1 2 |
JER2 3 |
MAG 3 |
ARA1 3 |
ARA2 4 |
MIS1 Ret |
MIS2 DSQ |
CAT1 3 |
CAT2 7 |
VAL1 4 |
VAL2 25 |
5th | 135 |
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season
| Season | Class | Motorcycle | Team | Race | Win | Podium | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Moto3 | KTM | Tech3 Racing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
By class
| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st pod | 1st win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moto3 | 2026–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 2025–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Moto3 | KTM | THA | BRA | AME | QAT | SPA | FRA | CAT | ITA | HUN | CZE | NED | GER | GBR | ARA | RSM | AUT | JPN | INA | AUS | MAL | POR | VAL | NC | 0 |
References
- ^ a b "Nuori nokialainen Rico Salmela ajaa nyt junnujen MM-luokassa" nokianuutiset.fi (in Finnish), 23 January 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Salmela Joins Red Bull KTM Tech3 To Complete 2026 Moto3™ Line-Up Alongside Perrone". tech3racing.fr. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ a b c "Rico Salmela - an up-and-coming talent in motorcycle racing". intact-batterien.de. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "13-vuotiaalle tulevaisuudenlupaus Rico Salmelalle uusi kuljettajasopimus – ajot ensi kaudella European Talent Cup -luokassa" motouutiset.fi (in Finnish), 12 March 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "El Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 se estrena ambicioso en el FIM CEV Repsol" europapress.es (in Spanish), 23 April 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Schedule Released". roadracingworld.com. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Suomalaiskuski mukaan Red Bull Rookies Cupiin – ”Ricolla on kyllä kova talentti”" bike.fi (in Finnish), 15 September 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Rico Salmela wins Rookies Cup thriller – Race 1 at Aragon". vroom-magazine.com. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Suomalaisvoitto Red Bull Rookies Cupissa: ”tänään oli se päivä!”" bike.fi (in Finnish), 17 September 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "JuniorGP™ Championship brings new winners in Estoril". motogp.com. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Salmela On Pole In Austria". roadracingworld.com. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Red Bull Rookies Cup season finale". mcnews.com.au. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "European Talent Cup Portimao: Rico Salmela 0,082 sekunnin päässä voitosta" bike.fi (in Finnish), 5 July 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Rico Salmela jatkaa Red Bull MotoGP Rookie Cupissa kaudella 2024!" motorsportal.fi (in Finnish), 13 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Salmela fastest at Spielberg in Rookies Qualifying". redbull.com. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Rico Salmela jännittävän taistelun jälkeen podiumille Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup:in Aragonin osakilpailussa" motouutiset.fi (in Finnish), 1 September 2024. 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Intact junior Rico Salmela storms to victory in Estoril". intactgp.de. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Junior GP: Rico Salmela palaa yllättäen Team Estrella Galicia 0.0 tallin suojiin" motouutiset.fi (in Finnish), 27 February 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Monlau, Marketing (5 May 2025). "Rico Salmela scores Team Estrella Galicia 0,0's first podium finish at the 2025 FIM JuniorGP™". monlau-motorsport.com. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Rico Salmela vältti kärkikuljettajien virheet sateisella Magny-Coursin radalla ja ajoi JuniorGP:n osakilpailussa jälleen podiumille" motouutiset.fi (in Finnish), 8 July 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
External links
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