Red Bull and Ajo Motorsport: “A successful collaboration”
Two wins and a further two podiums from the last five visits to Assen are a clear example of the success of the collaboration between  Red Bull and Ajo Motorsport. This partnership has provided two World Champions (Marc Marquez in 2010 and Sandro Cortese in 2012), one runner-up spot  (Jack Miller) and a total of 59 podiums in the lower cylinder class. 44 of these were achieved with KTM bikes as the Red Bull KTM Ajo Team –the structure with the most wins in Moto3 (21).

This weekend sees the Red Bull Rookies Cup return to action at the Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing. The series is a stepping stone to the World Championship and, thanks to the collaboration between Red Bull and Ajo Motorsport, six riders have raced in the Grand Prix competition with the Finnish structure.  The three current Red Bull KTM Ajo riders –Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and Karel Hanika– took part in the developmental series.

Oliveira, Catalunya Moto3 Race 2015

The Cathedral of Motorcycling, Assen, hosts the eighth round of the Moto3 World Championship with Oliveira, Binder and Hanika confident of good results.

With one win and two podiums in three years there in the Moto3 class, Assen is one of the most fruitful circuits for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. With the intention of continuing this successful streak, Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and Karel Hanika head to the eighth event of the year highly motivated. The layout of the “Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing” is particularly suited to the characteristics of the KTM bikes, and the objective for the weekend will be to close the gap to the series leader.

In the lottery of the last lap of the Catalan GP, Miguel Oliveira just missed out on a second consecutive podium. However, the Dutch TT is one of the GPs where he has achieved his best results, placing fourth in 2013 and third last year after climbing 10 places. Third in the overall standings, the Portuguese hopes to continue to boost his points tally in the chase for the title.

Assen is also liked by Brad Binder, who believes that the flat, fast and flowing track perfectly suits his riding style. Ninth last year, the South African hopes to take another step forward after two consecutive Top 10 finishes and return to the podium.

Karel Hanika won twice at Assen in the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2013. Only a crash 5 laps from the end last year prevented the Czech from one of the best results of his debut World Championship season. Hanika wants to boost his points total after two consecutive DNFs, caused by collisions with other riders.

The Dutch TT is the only race held on a Saturday, at 11am local time. Practice is also brought forward a day to begin on Thursday.

Circuit information – Assen
Length: 4.542 m. / 2,822 miles
Width: 14 metres
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 12
Longest straight: 487 m. / 0,303 miles
Constructed: 1955
Modified: 2012

Miguel Oliveira,
“I am very confident about this weekend. I really like the track and I think we will go well, because it is perfectly suited to our bike. Assen is not as bumpy a circuit as Barcelona-Catalunya, so this is something that favours us. It is also a very flat track, which has many cambers in the corners. This, together with the grip level of the asphalt, will help us with turning the bike in.”

Brad Binder,
“I think this weekend I can have another good performance at Assen, as it is particularly well suited to my riding style. It’s a fast and flowing track –one of my favourites on the calendar. Last year we got a good result, entering the Top 10, but hopefully we can improve this year. I feel confident about this round. We need to keep working, especially on the fast corners, because the last few races have not gone as well as we wanted and can be higher up the order. I can’t wait to get things underway.”

Karel Hanika,
“It’s my favourite track. I’ve raced there so many times and normally I enjoy it a lot. I hope we can do as well as last year, because we were in the front group and only a mistake at the end meant we didn’t finish the race. We can definitely be really strong there. It’s a special circuit. It’s very flat with banked corners where you can get a lot of grip. There are also very fast corners you can take in sixth gear, so I really like this track. I think we can get good results like I did in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, where I won a couple of races.”