Ruche Moodley, the first South African rider of colour in MotoGP, faced a challenging debut season in the FIM Moto3 World Championship due to recurring injuries, yet finished 27th overall and remains optimistic about his future. Photo: Red Bull
Image: Red Bull
As the first rider of colour from South Africa to compete on the world stage in MotoGP, it was not the fairytale rookie season Ruche Moodley would have envisioned.
At just 19, the future is still bright but possibly even more so considering the challenges he faced in his first full season in the FIM Moto3 World Championship.
Recurring injuries meant he had to start from scratch each time, and that killed any kind of momentum he gained during the season.
Still, he ended a commendable 27th overall out of 40 riders in the season-long standings.
“To get some points in the first few races was really good, especially on tracks I didn’t know. When we got to Europe, I was faster than in the first few races because I knew the tracks,” Moodley told SportsBoom.co.za.
“I then broke my arm and missed a lot of races, which was a pretty big setback. I lost a lot of time without racing. When I rejoined at Silverstone, I struggled to feel comfortable with my arm because I had some nerve damage.”
“Just as I started to get it back, I had another accident in Sydney, breaking my elbow, and that was another huge setback. After returning from the second injury, it took a lot of time to get back up to speed.”
“It was not an easy season, and the end of it was also super tough. We will see what happens next year.”