Pedro Acosta earns his third win of the year at Mugello. Albert Arenas crashes out on the final laps to finish 23rd.

The Italian Grand Prix was dominated by Pedro Acosta, who achieved victory with a large advantage over his rivals. Meanwhile Albert Arenas started from fifteenth position and suffered a crash on the closing laps when fighting for the points.

Acosta faced a demanding race at Mugello with a clear strategy, as he quickly moved into first position off the front row of the grid and laid down his own pace for the duration of the 19-lap contest. Acosta once again showed that Mugello is a track at which he feels comfortable, despite it being one of the fastest and toughest on the calendar. After riding alone until the end, he took the chequered flag more than six seconds ahead of his nearest rival, earning his third win of the season. With 99 points he is second in the overall standings.

Arenas did not have the best of weekends in Italy. The Moto2 rider started from the fifth row of the grid, and had to fight in a packed group. After gaining places on the first lap, Arenas looked to find a good feeling with the bike despite the high temperatures. Unfortunately he suffered a crash at Turn 1 with 4 laps to go. Although he was able to rejoin, he finished 23rd. Arenas is thirteenth in the series with 27 points.

The team travel to Germany this week for the second race of a European triple header, which will take place from June 16th-18th at Sachsenring.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

Even after a dominant weekend, Pedro was so strong from the beginning of the race. We had a good grid position and he has improved a lot in the practices during this year. Especially in the race, Pedro again showed how he can control himself. I’m really proud of him and the team are working very hard behind him. We have a good dynamic to earn more points in the next few races. Unfortunately, Albert crashed during the race and we lost out on the points. His grid position wasn’t optimal for this race, and now we have to understand everything well and come back stronger at Sachsenring.

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

I’m happy with this Grand Prix. The team worked very hard in the three-week break to try to improve some things that we were struggling with. They have pushed as much as I have and we have managed to recover from the crash at Le Mans. It has been a good race in which I managed the pace well. It’s my second victory at Mugello, a difficult circuit, so we’re very happy heading to the next race in Germany.

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

I didn’t have a good day at Mugello. The feeling wasn’t the best and I wasn’t comfortable on the bike. Even so, I gave it my maximum and despite the slip I tried to finish the race to get the best information for Germany. The positive thing is that in 5 days we are back in action.

Öncü finishes second in the Italian Grand Prix, with Jose Antonio Rueda in fourteenth position.

The Moto3 Italian Grand Prix was an intense fight for the victory at the Autodromo Internazionale di Mugello. Deniz Öncü put in one of his best performances to date in the class and crossed the finish line in second position, for his first podium of the season. Jose Antonio Rueda finished in the points, in fourteenth position.

Öncü started the race on pole after dominating proceedings all weekend. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider had a great start, taking the holeshot and working on maintaining a high pace despite the high temperatures as part of the front group. With four laps to go, Öncü tried to break away with another rider, although the rest of the field didn’t make it easy. On a great last lap, he continued to fight for the victory and led until the last metres, only losing out on his first victory in Moto3 by 0.051s. Second place gave him his first podium of the season and puts him sixth in the overall standings with 53 points.

Rueda faced a difficult race at Mugello. The Moto3 rookie started from the fifth row of the grid and, despite losing some positions at the start, managed to recover and climb back up the field on the first few laps. After reaching ninth position, he did not have a good feeling in the second part of the race and dropped back down, but stayed in the points and crossed the finish line in fourteenth. He is ninth in the overall standings with 39 points.

Next up is the German Grand Prix, from June 16th to 18th at Sachsenring.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

The Moto3 race was an exciting thriller today. When a rider dominates the whole weekend as Deniz has done, even in the race we saw that he was the best rider. He is quite tall and a bigger rider than other riders, so he has a disadvantage at this track. This feels like a win because Deniz did everything to try to win this race. We were so strong at some points but it was not possible this time. It gives us more confidence and he can still have more great races this year. It wasn’t an easy weekend for Jose Antonio but at least we need to be happy that he improved his understanding of his riding. In the race he wasn’t in the top positions but he was fighting well in his group. It’s his rookie season and it’s normal to have these kinds of races. We have to gather all the experience for the future.

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

Our level is really good at the moment. We are very good as a team. I did my best today and I tried to push at some points of the race, but we were struggling on the straight. I’m so happy for my team because I gave them their first podium of the season. The victory was so close today, but we still have a lot of races ahead.

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

On the first few laps I felt comfortable and I was able to recover positions, but after the fourth or fifth lap I began to have less feeling. I couldn’t find good lines and it was very difficult for me to overtake. This weekend we were up against it, because it took us a while to find a good setup for today’s race. It wasn’t one of my best races, but we kept on scoring points and learning a lot, which is the important thing.

Results (Race)

1. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 33:27.315

2. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.051

3. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) +0.056

4. David Alonso (GASGAS) +0.172

5. Jaume Masia (Honda) +0.487

14. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +15.701

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2023

1. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 109 points

2. Jaume Masia (Honda) 74 points

3. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 68 points

4. Diogo Moreira (KTM) 64 points

5. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 59 points

6. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 53 points

9. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 39 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2023

1. Leopard Racing 112 points

2. Red Bull KTM Tech3 111 points

3. Angeluss MTA Team 101 points

4. Red Bull KTM Ajo 92 points

5. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP 77 points