Beñat Fernández Etxeberria"Beñat Fernández Etxeberria 'Pelontxu': «En Assen hay que pensar mucho para llegar delante en la última curva»" diariovasco.com (in Spanish), 20 April 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025. (born 19 November 2007), nicknamed "Pelontxu", is a Spanish motorcycle racer who competes in the Sportbike World Championship and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. He will race in the Moto3 World Championship in 2027.
In October 2025, Fernández was crowned winner of the 2025 Supersport 300 World Championship with Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove. He is managed and mentored by Efrén Vázquez, former Grand Prix motorcycle racer.
Career Early career Fernández was born in Andoain, Spain. He started riding motorbikes at the age of four, after his father Imanol, a motorcycle enthusiast, gave him one as a present. He competed in national minibike categories from a young age and claimed several victories."Beñat Fernández, un pequeño piloto de motos con grandes aspiraciones " diariovasco.com (in Spanish), 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2025."Beñat Fernández gana en la Cup Dani Rivas" motogp.com (in Spanish), 26 September 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2025."Beñat Fernandez "Pelontxu" Espainiako motoen 85 cc mailan txapeldunorde" aiurri.eus (in Basque), 16 November 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
For 2022, Fernández competed in the European Talent Cup for Austin Racing VHC Team. He clinched 15th place at Valencia, which gave him his first points in the class. He neared the points throughout the rest of the season and finished 31st overall in his debut year."El piloto Beñat Fernández, 'Pelontxu', contará con patrocinio municipal" diariovasco.com (in Spanish), 27 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
Fernández remained in the European Talent Cup for 2023 with the same team. He gradually improved his results, with a best personal finish in ninth place at Portimão and Barcelona."Bujosa dará el salto a JuniorGP en la prueba catalana de la Talent Cup" vhcracingteam.com (in Spanish), 12 July 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025."European Talent Cup 2023: Calendario, pilotos, equipos, españoles y cinco favoritos" motociclismo.es (in Spanish), 7 May 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2025. His final position in the standings was 16th. In 2024, Fernández faced his last season in the European Talent Cup, where he finished consistently in the top-ten. His best result was a fourth place at Estoril, narrowly missing out on the podium spots."European Talent Cup 2024: Calendario, pilotos, equipos, españoles y cinco favoritos" motociclismo.es (in Spanish), 21 April 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
Supersport 300 and Sportbike World Championships In 2025, Fernández made the step up to the Supersport 300 World Championship with Kove. In his debut round at Portimão, he claimed pole position and won Race 2, after finishing fourth in Race 1. He secured his second win at Misano Race 2, after having finished in third and second place in the previous round at Most."Beñat Fernández se impone a Julio García para ganar la carrera 2 de Supersport 300" super7moto.com (in Spanish), 15 June 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025. He was crowned champion at the final round at Jerez where he finished first in front of championship contenders Thompson and Salvador.
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup At the end of 2024, Fernández was selected to participate in the 2025 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, along with seven other riders. Fernández had a strong 2025 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup debut season, where he clinched two podiums and won the second race of the Le Mans round in wet conditions, with a big gap behind him. He finished sixth overall in the final standings. He also entered two rounds of the 2025 FIM JuniorGP World Championship with Eagle-1 Team. He finished 11th at Magny-Cours and then 11th and tenth at Motorland Aragón.
Fernández began his second season in the Rookies with a win and third place at Jerez, followed up with a second win in the next round at Le Mans. He would win again at Assen to solidify his championship lead. However, following retirements and finishes out of the top ten places, he had to defend his lead until the final round at the Red Bull Ring, where he was crowned champion in front of Fernando Bujosa and Ryota Ogiwara.
Moto3 World Championship On 11 July 2026, the Moto3 team LevelUp – MTA announced Fernández would be stepping up to the World Championship for the 2027 season.
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 Pos Pts 2022 Honda EST EST VAL VAL BAR JER JER ALG ARA ARA VAL 31st 1 2023 Honda EST EST VAL VAL JER JER ALG BAR ARA ARA VAL 16th 34 2024 Honda MIS MIS EST EST BAR ALG JER JER ARA ARA EST 7th 72
FIM Moto3 Junior 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 2025 KTM ESTJER1JER2MAGARA1ARA2 MIS1 MIS2 CAT1 CAT2 VAL1 VAL2 19th 16 2026 Honda CAT1 CAT2 EST JER1 JER2 MAG VAL1 VAL2 ARA1 ARA2 MIS1 MIS2 21st* 0* Season still in progress.
Supersport 300 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 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Kove POR POR ASS ASS MOS MOS MIS MIS MAG MAG ARA ARA EST EST JER JER 1st 231
Sportbike 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 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2026 Kove POR POR NED NED CZE CZE ARA ARA EMI EMI FRA FRA ITA ITA SPA SPA 19th* 19* Season still in progress.
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 2025 KTM JER JER LMS LMS ARA ARA MUG MUG SAC SAC RBR RBR MIS MIS 6th 120 2026 KTM JER JER LMS LMS MUG MUG ASS ASS SAC SAC MIS MIS RBR RBR 1st 175
References
External links