Early career Salmela was born in
Nokia, Finland. He excelled in national and later international classes in the Netherlands and Spain, and was selected by the Estrella Galicia program to compete in the
2021 European Talent Cup season, at the age of 13. He scored top-ten finishes from the opening race of the season and went on to finish 13th overall in the standings. His Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season was very competitive, clinching two podiums in total, one of them being his maiden win at
MotorLand Aragón. He finished seventh in the final standings. Meanwhile, in the European Talent Cup, Salmela earned his first podium at
Estoril, with a third-place finish, followed by another third in the next round at
Valencia. He ended the season eighth overall. His final position in the standings was fourth. In the
European Talent Cup, he also placed fourth overall, after a season with two podiums and consistent top-ten finishes. For 2024, Salmela participated in his last
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season, while also stepping up to the
FIM JuniorGP World Championship with Intact GP, on a
Husqvarna. He finished his Rookies Cup season in fourth place overall, claiming four podiums, one pole position and no victories. At the same time, Salmela earned his maiden win in the JuniorGP in the second round at
Estoril. He claimed several top-ten finishes through the remainder of the season but also suffered retirements, and finished 13th overall in the standings. Salmela returned to the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 to race in the
2025 FIM JuniorGP World Championship, making the switch to a
Honda NSF250R. He finished on the podium in the opening five races of the calendar.
Moto3 World Championship Red Bull KTM Tech3 (2026) On 22 September 2025,
Tech3 announced Salmela would be joining their lineup for the
2026 Moto3 World Championship season, alongside
Valentín Perrone. ==Career statistics==