In 2023, Jaume Masià was on top of the world after winning the Moto3 World Championship in a penultimate-round showdown in Qatar. Yet just two years later, he was without a ride and staring into the void despite a significant pedigree across the grand prix ladder.
Motorsport has proven time and time again how it can be one of the most brutal businesses in the world, and despite his accolades and achievements, Masià was all too aware that opportunities could arise just as quickly as they disappear.
When January 2025 rolled around, Masià received a call from the Orelac Racing team boss, José Calero. Unbeknownst to others at the time, Orelac’s contracted rider, Jorge Navarro, had elected to pursue an opportunity in Moto2 instead of competing in WorldSSP, leaving Calero needing a rider to complete his lineup for the new campaign.
For Masià, Calero’s call gave him one final lifeline.
“Honestly, it was like my last chance because I was lucky,” Masià said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport Week.
“I was lucky that Navarro went to Forward in Moto2, so there was one spot available here.If not, I would be at home. I don’t know what I would be doing.
“José allowed me to come here, but, really, it was not a chance. They called me in January and I took [the offer] in January. It was like life gave me the opportunity, and I’m really thankful to them for giving me the chance.”
It wasn’t just in his words that Masià expressed his thanks to Orelac, but also in his performances on track. The Spaniard finished the year as the best Ducati rider, taking third in the standings behind Yamaha duo Stefano Manzi and Can Öncü by winning the final race of the season in Jerez.
Masià admitted Yamaha’s potential may have been underestimated at the start of the season, although he wasn’t too disappointed to come away with third place in the standings after a strong rookie campaign.
“We faced a really strong Yamaha bike from the beginning, and we were even expecting a worse performance from them because it was the first year of the bike and everything,” the Valencian admitted. “They had, for me, the best bike and also the best riders, so it’s quite easy for them to show what they are showing us.
“About me, I’m happy. I learn many things from this championship. It’s quite different from what I was doing in the past. We made some mistakes during the year, but it was because we were new in the championship and everything. If I put everything on a balance, I’d say it’s quite positive.”
Jaume Masià reveals how he progressed from Valencian protege to Moto3 World Champion
Like most riders, Masià’s journey began at a very young age, when his father brought him to a racetrack in his home city of Valencia. What initially started as a fun hobby for a kid who loved motorcycles eventually progressed into something more, as some of the region’s top scouts recognised his talent.
“We realised that I had some potential when I made a Selection test of Champions, which was a really big competition in Valencia,” Masià recalled.
“They helped the riders to grow quite a lot and I was selected by them, so we realised maybe it was because I was quite good and they saw something special. From then we start focusing on working and on growing up on the bikes.”
As the Valencian progressed further, he eventually found himself in the grand prix paddock, surrounded by icons of the sport like Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, and Masia’s personal “legend”, Dani Pedrosa.
Making his Moto3 debut as a 16-year-old replacement rider, Masià realised his dream of making it to the world championship stage and impressed enough to secure a full-time ride for the 2018 season.
It didn’t take too long for the Spaniard to find his way in the paddock thereafter.
As part of the Bester Capital team, Masià started his Moto3 career strongly, proving to be a consistent points scorer and finishing 2018 as the Rookie of the Year. His performances gave him plenty to work with, and as the 2019 season dawned, it seemed that everything clicked into place.
After a non-score in the first round of the season in Qatar, Masià finally found the breakthrough he’d been looking for at the Argentine GP. At the tricky Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, the Spaniard set the pace to claim his first pole position in the lightweight class and went on to secure his maiden victory in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 25-year-old still fondly looks back on the memories from that day in Argentina, and admits that after that first win, he realised he could go on to achieve greater things in motorcycle racing.
“This was obviously my best [moment] apart from my world championship,” he remembered. “It was my first podium and my first victory, and it was incredible for me. My father was there with me and I enjoyed it a lot. This was an incredible moment for me.
“From then, I really started thinking of the possibility to become world champion, because in my first year, I was just racing and struggling a lot to get the results, that’s normal. But, at that moment, I realised maybe I could fight for something bigger in my life.”
After his maiden victory, the Valencian looked poised for success in the junior classes. However, a title run never really materialised until the 2023 season. After one year with the ever-competitive Leopard squad in 2020, he then spent two campaigns with KTM Ajo.
Despite claiming three victories with the Finnish team over his two-year stint, Masia eventually returned to Leopard in 2023 after some disappointing performances.
Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of the Moto3 class, Masià only relished the six years of experience he gained while competing for the title.
“In life, it’s everything about decisions and being in the right place at the right time,” the Spaniard said. “Maybe in my career I didn’t make the best decisions, but every one of them at the end also brought me to the world championship.
“So I learned a lot from all the teams I’ve been at, KTM Ajo and also on Leopard. I believe every year for me was an experience to learn and, in the end, be crowned as World Champion.”
That crowning moment would come as night fell in Qatar on 19 November 2023, when Masià crossed the line in first place to take not just the race victory, but to achieve his lifelong ambition of becoming a World Champion in grand prix racing.
The feeling of the first championship is something that never leaves a rider, and three years later, the Spaniard remembers the euphoria of that moment all too well.
“First of all, I remember I didn’t know in which positions my rival finished,” Masià recalled. “So I was looking for the TVs to see if I was mathematically World Champion or not, and then when I realised, I cannot describe it.
“It’s one feeling really. You feel all the positive energy inside your body, like you are flying in that moment. Mentally, physically, it’s incredible. It’s like being drunk off good energy and happiness, and it’s amazing.”
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