Goiania. Indonesian rider Veda Pratama made history on Sunday by finishing third in the Moto3 race at the Brazilian Grand Prix, becoming the first Indonesian to secure a podium finish in any class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

The 17-year-old Honda Team Asia rider started from fourth on the grid but dropped to 10th position by lap 12. His race turned around after a red flag halted proceedings following a crash involving two riders, allowing him to regroup for the restart.

Veda capitalized on the restart with a strong performance, rejoining the leading pack and steadily climbing the standings. In the final four laps, he surged from seventh to fourth with aggressive riding before overtaking into third place on the final lap to seal a historic finish.

He finished behind Aspar Team duo Maximo Quiles, who took victory, and Marco Morelli.

“I finally finished in the top three in my second race weekend. This is my biggest achievement so far,” Veda said in a post-race interview streamed by MotoGP.com. “I want to say thank you so much to all Indonesian people, all sponsors, and my family watching from Indonesia. It’s incredible.”

Veda had already shown early promise in the season-opening race in Thailand, where he finished fifth in his Moto3 debut, signaling his emergence as one of Indonesia’s most exciting young talents in international motorcycle racing.