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A ninth-place finish at round nine of the 2025 Moto3 World Championship has left Australian international Joel Kelso with an air of resilience following two difficult weekends of racing, adamant that ‘you can’t let a couple of bad results drag you down’ post-race.

After a string of four top-five finishes spanning rounds three to six – three of which were on the podium – the LevelUp-MTA rider has experienced a self-described ‘dip’ in results since, with a DNF at Silverstone, P7 in Aragon, and ninth at Sunday’s Italian GP characterising the last three rounds.

Still, the 21-year-old is keeping his head high as the series heads to Assen this weekend for the 10th round of the season.

“It’s been a couple of tough races – the last two didn’t go as we wanted, [and] we’re in a bit of a dip right now,” reflected Kelso post-race. “But when your ‘bad’ results are a seventh and a ninth, it’s not a disaster, and we know that we’ll bounce back soon. It’s only two races, and it’s important to stay focused and sharp so we can turn things around.

“You can’t let a couple bad results drag you down. The team and I gave it everything this weekend, and honestly, in the end it felt like a bit of a lottery – but that’s Moto3 at Mugello. So yeah, we’ll take the positives, keep our heads high, and keep pushing.”

Kelso sits fourth in the overall Moto3 championship standings, 12 points from P3 entering the Dutch GP this weekend.