The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo completed the final day of the Australian Grand Prix this Sunday with a race interrupted by the delicate weather conditions, which forced the contest to be stopped earlier than planned. Pedro Acosta finished ninth, while Albert Arenas was fourteenth.

On this occasion the rider had the opportunity to have a warmup to check out the state of the track. Acosta completed 5 laps and finished in fourth position with a time of 1:47.311. Arenas suffered an early fall crash before he could clock a time.

Acosta did not make the desired start to the Australian Grand Prix race. He suffered a crash on the formation lap which forced him to take off from the back of the grid, after the team had rushed to get his KTM ready. With a situation very different from what had been expected, Acosta got a good start despite the extreme conditions and began to make up positions. After the first 5 laps he was already in the points, concentrating on not making mistakes. He finally managed to enter the Top 10, although the weather conditions forced the race to be stopped before he could make further progress. The race would not be resumed and half points were distributed, putting Acosta ninth at the final count. With 280.5 points he remains the leader of the Moto2 World Championship.

Arenas approached the race with the desire to continue improving his feeling and consolidating his improvement. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider started from fourteenth position, on the fifth row of the grid. The Spaniard felt more comfortable despite the difficult track conditions and steadily climbed the order. Whilst he was in the Top 10 when the red flag stopped the race, Arenas was given fourteenth. He is fifteenth in the series and has 63 points.

This week, work continues for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders, who travel to Thailand for the next event on the calendar, from 27th to 29th October.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“Today we had one of the most challenging races and toughest conditions that I can remember in our history in the Moto2 class. When the conditions are rainy and windy it is really hard to make the tyres work. Today Race Control’s directions were the right ones and the race was red flagged. Unfortunately, Pedro had a crash on the sighting lap, but the whole team including the Moto3 crews and KTM worked so hard and finally he was able to start the race. I want to give a big thank you for this team effort, as this is personally something that I really respect. Albert didn’t have an easy weekend but we are happy because he finished this extreme race in the points. I’m sure that in the next races and with normal conditions he will come closer and closer to the top positions.”

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“In the Warmup we had already seen that it was very windy. I fell on the sighting lap and that affected the race. There wasn’t much water on the track, but the wind made it difficult for us to ride. The situation allowed us to see that we are competitive in the wet, and we were able to make up many positions so we can take that away from today. Now it’s time to think about Thailand and the next race.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

“As expected, today’s conditions were very tricky, with a lot of rain and wind. I want to thank the team for preparing the bike after the crash in the warm up. It was a race of survival, we scored points and now comes the last of the triplet, so we will keep working hard”.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider earns his third victory, while Jose Antonio Rueda finishes eighteenth.

The Moto3 Australian Grand Prix race took place in extreme conditions where rain and wind affected the race. Deniz Öncü achieved his third victory of the year after a great overtake on the final corner, while José Antonio Rueda finished in eighteenth position.

On this occasion, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo were able to carry out a warmup session to prepare for the race, because the conditions were very different from those of the rest of the weekend. Öncü finished fourth with a time of 1:49.779, while Rueda was 22nd with a 1:52.721.

Öncü started the race from seventh position on the grid and got off the line well. Despite the delicate state of the track, the Turkish rider advanced positions to enter the Top 3 early on, remaining in second place. After a small scare, he managed to recover and regain positions again, waiting for the best moment to try to overtake the race leader. On a great last lap, Öncü overtook his rival at Turn 10 and snatched first position, going on to claim the win. With 180 points, he is fifth in the overall standings, level with the rider in fourth place.

Rueda faced a tricky race at Phillip Island. The Spanish rider took off from the seventh row of the grid, dropping several places. Rueda tried not to make mistakes and to complete a race in which the rain and wind made riding highly difficult. The rookie climbed positions and, after completing the 21 laps, crossed the finish line in eighteenth. Rueda remains eighth in the Moto3 standings with 11 points.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team face the last race of the triple header this week, with the Thai Grand Prix.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“What an emotional win for us here in Phillip Island. Deniz did a great job, as he showed that he can control the race in very extreme conditions. He managed things in a perfect way and on the last lap he made the decision to pass the leader. We have huge respect for Deniz and of course the whole team, who are supporting him all the time. That just showed how much he is maturing, especially on the mental side, and I’m very happy about that. It wasn’t an easy weekend for Rueda, especially today in rainy conditions, as our performance wasn’t really strong. It’s his rookie year and everything is new for him, so that’s understandable, but especially in wet conditions we have to practice a lot and find out what we have to do to improve performance.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“The race was amazing and felt too long for me. It was raining a lot and you needed to be consistent. It was so hard for me to keep focused during the whole race because of the wind, the cold and the rain. After 10 laps I started to shake, so I just tried to manage that and finish in the best way possible. On the final laps I saw how I could win the race and on the last lap I tried it. It was a great reward for us, especially with these conditions.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“It was a very hard race for me. Throughout the weekend we have not had a good feeling, and today’s conditions were very complicated and it was too risky to ride like that. I want to focus on the next race and try to do well from Friday. We also learn from these weekends, so now it’s time to keep working.”

Results (Race)

Results (Moto 3 race)

1. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 39:57.919

2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) +0.407

3. Joel Kelso (CFMOTO) +4.392

4. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) +23.062

5. Adrian Fernandez (Honda) +31.661

18. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1 lap

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2023

1. Jaume Masia (Honda) 217 points

2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 213 points

3. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 195 points

4. David Alonso (GasGas) 180 points

5. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM) 180 points

10. José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 111 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2023

1. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intanct GP 302 points

2. Red Bull KTM Ajo 291 points

3. Leopard Racing 278 points

4. Angeluss MTA Team 252 points

5. Gaviota GasGas Aspar Team 244 points