Kent fights back for eighth place
13/04/2014Husqvarna take first Top 10 finish in Moto3, courtesy of Danny Kent. Niklas Ajo claims first two points of the season.
This Sunday, Austin -Texas- was the scene of round two of the Moto3 World Championship: The Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. This was to be the first race in which Husqvarna riders Danny Kent and Niklas Ajo placed in the points. The Briton claimed eighth and earnt his first Top 10 finish of the year, whilst the Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo rider opened his tally with two points.
Danny Kent set off keen to finish a tricky weekend in positive fashion. He moved up two places on the opening lap, and then the Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo rider found a steady pace with which to battle for tenth position with the fourth group. Kent used experience to his advantage and, after 18 laps and various crashes from his rivals, concluded the contest in eighth place. Jack Miller was the winner of the Texan round of the World Championship.
Niklas Ajo was unable to make a good start, and dropped four places in the early going. That made him lose touch with the groups ahead of him and get caught up in a battle for thirteenth. In the end, his fourteenth place finish allowed him to score his first points of the campaign.
After two races, Danny Kent is eleventh in the Moto3 standings with 11 points. Niklas Ajo has 2 and is eighteenth. The next GP takes place on April 27th at the new Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, which hosts the only South American round of the year.
Results – Race
1. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 41:06.659
2. Romano Fenati (KTM) +0.069
3. Efren Vezquez (Honda) +0.172
4. Alex Rins (Honda) +7.182
5. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) +7.264
8. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) +23.981
14. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) +35.020
Moto3 World Championship Standing 2014
1. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 50 points
2. Efren Vazquez (Honda) 32 points
3. Romano Fenati (KTM) 24 points
4. Alex Rins (Honda) 24 points
5. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) 21 points
11. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) 11 points
18. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) 2 points
Danny Kent >> Audio (solely for radio use)
“In the end the weekend did not conclude too badly. With all the problems we had, I did not have a good feeling and we started from 16th due to a poor qualifying session. However, this morning in the warmup we changed some things on the bike that allowed me to immediately feel more comfortable. We improved 0.6 seconds this morning compared with qualifying. If we had run this pace in the first free practice session, we would have been stronger today. Now we have to work hard with our focus on Argentina, taking things step by step.”
Niklas Ajo >> Audio (solely for radio use)
“Overall, it was a good weekend, even before the race. We obtained a good result in the qualifying session and we were well prepared for the race. But when it started, after a few laps I had problems with the tyres. There was a lot of chatter, especially on the right-handers, and it was very difficult to ride the bike. I lost time on the fast chicanes, despite having closed in on Danny [Kent] and Karel [Hanika]. I made a mistake and they got away again. I’m a little angry about this mistake, but this is racing and now we have to focus on the next race.”