Twelfth place for Bendsneyder in battle of Mugello

04/06/2017

Red Bull KTM Ajo rider adds four more points to his tally in wild race, with up to 21 riders fighting for the win. Niccolo Antonelli places sixteenth.

 

The Italian Grand Prix provided another crazy Moto3 race, with a multitude of riders battling for the win in the final stages. Over 20 laps of constant overtaking, the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders did not have the same luck as on other occasions and on the last lap were in the middle of the group. Bo Bendsneyder claimed points for the third consecutive race, with twelfth position, while Niccolo Antonelli was just outside the Top 15 with sixteenth place.

Antonelli started the race well, gaining three positions and moving into eighth, just ahead of his teammate. From that moment on, constant overtaking and a packed group meant that some 7 or 8 riders came into the first corner in a row. Bendsneyder remained in the middle of the group, but Antonelli had to fight back after falling to twenty-second place on the ninth lap. In the end, after a huge battle, the Dutchman finished 12th, just 1.2 seconds behind the winner, and Antonelli was 16th.

Six rounds into the season, Bo Bendsneyder is fifteenth in the standings with 16 points. Antonelli, with 11, is eighteenth. With no time to rest, the Red Bull KTM Ajo team now head to Barcelona, where next weekend they will contest the Catalan Grand Prix.

 

Results (Race)
1. Andrea Migno (KTM) 39:43.963
2. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +0.037
3. Juanfran Guevara (KTM) +0.166
4. Darryn Binder (KTM) +0.362
5. Aron Canet (Honda) +0.364
12. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +1.262
16. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +1.858

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2017
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 108 points
2. Aron Canet (Honda) 74 points
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 71 points
4. Romano Fenati (Honda) 68 points
5. Andrea Migno (KTM) 68 points
15. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 16 points
18. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 11 points

 

23 NICCOLO ANTONELLI
“It’s true that Moto3 races at Mugello are a bit of a lottery, and you can win or be very far back based on very little. I’m not happy with the race because I wasn’t in the fight for the top positions. In addition, a small mechanical problem prevented me from completing the final laps with the good feeling I had previously. In any case, we had not really been at the head of the group at any point. Nevertheless, I am quite happy with the step forward we took in this race. After the bad luck in the last few races, it was important to complete all the laps. This should be a starting point heading to Barcelona.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“As you can see today, the races at Mugello are different: Riders who have been at the front all weekend with better pace, can be passed on the last lap to drop to the end of a group of twenty riders. It’s like a video game. Personally, I am happy with the feeling we had, and it has been a positive weekend, especially thanks to the step forward we took in the race. Maybe it’s not the result we expected after practice, but I think if we are 1.2s behind the leader and always fighting in the front group, it won’t be bad. I’m not happy with the twelfth position. The next step is to fight at all times to achieve a place on the podium.”

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER
“At Mugello the Moto3 race is always very special. We have several races in the championship where large groups are formed, so many riders place outside the points when in reality they are only 1.5 seconds away from the winner. But in any case, we cannot be happy with our results this weekend. As I have repeated several times during this season, we have to keep working hard and we need to do a thorough analysis to find out how we can improve our level in the coming races.”

 

 

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