Moto3: 2022 rookie profile – David Salvador

Experienced Spaniard David Salvador steps up to the Moto3 World Championship for 2022.

David Salvador is a 2022 rookie with a point to prove and a seriously impressive racing CV to back this up, the Spanish rider from Madrid boasts multiple Red Bull Rookies victories and has stepped on the podium many times on different machinery in the FIM CEV, proving not only is he fast, but he can also adapt rapidly to whatever machinery you put underneath him.

In 2021 Salvador concentrated solely on the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship after spending the two seasons previous balancing the Red Bull Rookies the CEV Moto3 series’, he signed for the TM Racing squad to ride their Moto3 machine and took it to the podium on two occasions, the opening round of the season and the finale, finishing in P5 overall.

Salvador aboard the TM Racing Moto3 machine.

Salvador’s career started back in 2010 when he began training with the KSB School based in his hometown of Madrid aboard a Polini MiniMoto, he progressed quickly and was entered into the MiniMoto championship the year following cruising to the title in his first season of racing, from here he would step up to bigger machinery racing a Kawasaki 65cc coming in second overall before doing the triple in 2013 taking home three Madrid based titles on MiniMoto’s and Minimotards as he learned his craft, improving on this race by race.

The championships would start to roll in from here as he gained more and more momentum with the Castilla 65cc Supermotard championship being wrapped up in 2014 which opened the doors for him to step onto the MiniGP140’s, these bikes are the first piece to the puzzle for any rider who wants to set sail on the journey of riding in Grand Prix, the Spanish national Minivelocidad championship hosts many teams including the prestigious Mir Racing team which has birthed many champions and races on full-size Grand Prix tracks. Salvador stepped into the series as a rookie and won the title in his first attempt, also doing the same in an alternative Spanish national championship, currently he was on a run of six consecutive titles, adding a seventh to his name in 2017.

Podium at the final round of the 2021 CEV Moto3 season.

When 2017 arrived he had reached the level whereby he could ride 250cc machinery, matching the Grand Prix Moto3 class’ cubic capacity. He stayed with the Mir Racing Team to take the PreMoto4 title on the 250cc bike before entering the fold of the CEV, a series known for birthing an incredible amount of champions. He hopped aboard the Mir Racing PreMoto3 and took home P2 overall on a 250cc KTM powered bike, this included a race win at Jerez. At this point he was racing his way through the championships not spending more than a single season in a series before moving on, this stayed true for 2018 as he moved to the European Talent Cup, the class just two away from Grand Prix Moto3.

The European Talent Cup, or ETC as it’s commonly known has paved the way for many riders you may have heard of including Moto3 rider Xavier Artigas, Moto2 riders Fermin Aldeguer and Zonta van der Goorbergh and many more. This is where it got serious and Salvador was fighting to be able to race for his career, in his debut season of the ETC he placed in P3 overall with multiple podiums to his name finishing ahead of Carlos Tatay, Lorenzo Fellon, Barry Baltus and Adrian Fernandez, all riders who compete full time in Grand Prix.

This rapid speed gained Salvador a spot in the FIM CEV Moto3 series remaining with the Cuna del Campeones squad and a seat in the prestigious Red Bull Rookies Championship for 2019, a series which needs no explaining for what it can do for riders with many MotoGP class victors passing through the series in their careers. In his debut season in the rookies would take three podiums including a rookie race win in the final round of the season with P4 overall, he backed this up with a best result of P6 in the FIM CEV, incredibly promising.

Salvador made his World Championship debut with the Snipers Team in Austria. 

2020 rolled around and once the racing got underway Salvador realised he had an issue in the rookies, despite scoring four more points than the previous season he finished up two places less overall in P6 with a win and a podium, however in the FIM CEV he dramatically improved to P6 overall, two podiums and a worst result of P7, it was at this point the decision was made to concentrate on the CEV for 2021.

It was a dream year for the young rider, he made his Moto3 World Championship debut in Austria with the Snipers Team and came home in P5 overall in the FIM CEV on the TM Machine after leaving his Cuna del Campeones family behind, the podium in the last race of the season sealing the deal for his graduation to the world championship.

Salvador had earned his place in the world championship and penned a deal with the BOE KTM Moto3 team to pair alongside fellow rookie David Muñoz for 2022, if he can continue on this harsh rise then there’s no doubt he will be hunting for glory in no time at all.

Featured images – FIM CEV / Gold and Goose – Red Bull Content Pool