Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo rider suffers a crash with just two laps remaining when fighting for the podium, finishing 20th. Niklas Ajo climbs 10 places and takes ninth place at the Australian Grand Prix.

Yesterday he suffered a heavy crash in the qualifying session and fractured his left little finger, but that did not stop Niklas Ajo from having one of his best races to date. The Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo rider gained ten positions in the race to return to the top ten, placing ninth and claiming further points for his tally for the first time in four Grands Prix. Meanwhile, Danny Kent crashed with 2 laps remaining and was unable to round off a positive weekend with a strong result, crossing the line 20th.

Niklas Ajo began from nineteenth today, for a race in which he did not want to take too many risks on the early laps. Part of a large second group in the battle for twelfth place, the Finn managed to play his cards right. After 23 laps and several crashes for his rivals in the closing stages, Ajo was the first in the group to cross the finish line and took ninth.

Danny Kent gained one place off the line, moving into the top three. Watching the risky overtaking taking place at the front, the Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo rider opted to sit back in eleventh to prepare his strategy. With 7 laps to go he returned to the front to fight for the podium, until on the penultimate lap his chances ended with a crash. He would pick his Husqvarna bike back up and remount to take the chequered flag.

The Moto3 World Championship now heads to Malaysia, where next week the first of the two races remaining in the season will take place. In the overall standings, Danny Kent remains ninth with 103 points. Niklas Ajo, with 7 points earned today, has a total of 52 and is fourteenth.

Results – Race
1. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 37:25.209
2. Alex Marquez (Honda) +0.029
3. Alex Rins (Honda) +0.032
4. Efren Vazquez (Honda) +0.044
5. John McPhee (Honda) +0.134
9. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) +18.118
20. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) +36.602

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2014
1. Alex Marquez (Honda) 251 points
2. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 231 points
3. Alex Rins (Honda) 210 points
4. Efren Vazquez (Honda) 187 points
5. Romano Fenati (KTM) 174 points
9. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) 103 points
14. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) 52 points

Danny Kent >> Audio (solely for radio use)

“Once again we have been very strong here at Phillip Island. Since Aragon we have made an important step forward by demonstrating that we can be up at the front consistently. We worked very well throughout the weekend and it was just a shame about the way it ended. In the incident, Jack [Miller] overtook me on the inside and, when I opened up slightly, I collided with Binder and crashed. It was frustrating because we were going very well and could have fought for another podium. Now we have to focus on Malaysia.”

Niklas Ajo >> Audio (solely for radio use)

“It’s been a difficult weekend after my mistake yesterday in qualifying –in which I had a bad crash. After breaking my finger and suffering pain all over my body, it was not an easy race. Besides qualifying, the rest of the weekend we had been fast and we had a good pace –but the incident relegated us to the back of the grid. We can be really happy with the final position today because we gained ten places and were able to score points. It was also important to finish the race after three DNFs. Now we have to keep working to not repeat such mistakes. It is essential that our work is consistent and that we try to get good results in practice. If we improve this and our speed, then in Malaysia we can be part of the front group.”