Rico Salmela

Rico Salmela
Nationality	Finnish
Born	(2008-02-14) 14 February 2008 (age 17) Nokia, Finland [1]
Current team	Team Estrella Galicia 0,0
Bike number	27

Rico Salmela (born 14 February 2008) is a Finnish motorcycle racer currently competing in the 2025 FIM JuniorGP World Championship for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0. He will race for Tech3 in the 2026 Moto3 World Championship season. ^[2]

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, he 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 8	JER 4	JER 1	MUG 1	MUG Ret	SAC 12	SAC 6	RBR 9	RBR 2	ARA 3	ARA 2	VAL 3	VAL 1	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	MIS 16	MIS Ret	EST1 1	CAT 16	CAT Ret	ALG Ret	ALG 5	JER 5	JER Ret	ARA 8	EST2 Ret	EST2 10	13th	61
2025	Honda	EST 3	JER 2	JER 3	MAG 3	ARA 3	ARA 4	MIS Ret	MIS 3	CAT	CAT	VAL	VAL	2nd*	113*

* Season still in progress.

References

1. "Nuori nokialainen Rico Salmela ajaa nyt junnujen MM-luokassa" nokianuutiset.fi (in Finnish), 23 January 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
2. "SALMELA JOINS RED BULL KTM TECH3 TO COMPLETE 2026 MOTO3™ LINE-UP ALONGSIDE PERRONE". tech3racing.fr. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
3. "Rico Salmela - an up-and-coming talent in motorcycle racing". intact-batterien.de. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
4. "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.
5. "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.
6. "2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Schedule Released". roadracingworld.com. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
7. "Suomalaiskuski mukaan Red Bull Rookies Cupiin – ”Ricolla on kyllä kova talentti”" bike.fi (in Finnish), 15 September 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
8. "Rico Salmela wins Rookies Cup thriller – Race 1 at Aragon". vroom-magazine.com. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
9. "Suomalaisvoitto Red Bull Rookies Cupissa: ”tänään oli se päivä!”" bike.fi (in Finnish), 17 September 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
10. "JuniorGP™ Championship brings new winners in Estoril". motogp.com. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
11. "Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup: Salmela On Pole In Austria". roadracingworld.com. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
12. "Red Bull Rookies Cup season finale". mcnews.com.au. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
13. "European Talent Cup Portimao: Rico Salmela 0,082 sekunnin päässä voitosta" bike.fi (in Finnish), 5 July 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
14. "Rico Salmela jatkaa Red Bull MotoGP Rookie Cupissa kaudella 2024!" motorsportal.fi (in Finnish), 13 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
15. "Salmela fastest at Spielberg in Rookies Qualifying". redbull.com. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
16. "Rico Salmela jännittävän taistelun jälkeen podiumille Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup:in Aragonin osakilpailussa" motouutiset.fi (in Finnish), 1 September 2024. 1 September 2025.
17. "Intact junior Rico Salmela storms to victory in Estoril". intactgp.de. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
18. "Junior GP: Rico Salmela palaa yllättäen Team Estrella Galicia 0.0 tallin suojiin" motouutiset.fi (in Finnish), 27 February 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
19. 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.
20. "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.