Bendsneyder battles to Top 10 finish at Sachsenring

02/07/2017

Dutch rider finishes 8th at the German Grand Prix, his best result this season. Danny Kent suffers a crash with 12 laps remaining.

Bo Bendsneyder’s efforts at Sachsenring provided a reward this Sunday. The Dutch rider, who had been unfortunate at Assen one week ago, claimed his best finish of the season in the German GP with eighth place. Teammate Danny Kent, standing in for the injured Niccolo Antonelli, was unable to finish the race after suffering a crash 12 laps from the end.

Starting from the third row, Bendsneyder was in the second group from the start, fighting with over fifteen riders for sixth position. Although close to the halfway mark he had dropped to 16th, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider led the group in the final stretch, crossing the finish line in eighth place. It is his best placing of his second season in the Moto3 World Championship so far.

For Danny Kent it was a tough race. Starting from 28th on the grid, little by little he moved up the order, before riding by himself in 22nd position. Unfortunately, his progression was cut short 12 laps from the end, as he crashed out at Turn 3.

Following nine rounds of action, the season now reaches the summer break. The Moto3 World Championship will resume on August 4th-6th with the Czech Republic GP.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“Although the race did not begin too well for Bo [Bendsneyder], on the last few laps he was able to solve the issues. Bo has been smart with managing the tyres, something that is very important at this circuit. In addition, he led the group, although in the end he lost two positions on the last lap. As I’ve been saying at the last few races, he’s always in a continuous state of improvement and working in the right direction. This is the way to go. I want to thank Danny [Kent] for his work replacing Niccolo [Antonelli] for this Grand Prix. After returning to Moto2 it has not been an easy weekend for him and unfortunately he started from far back. His pace on the first laps was good, but he crashed out in the end and it’s a shame about that.”

Results (Race)
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 39:34.775
2. Romano Fenati (Honda) +0.121
3. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) +0.218
4. Nicolo Bulega (KTM) +5.074
5. Philipp Oettl (KTM) +13.073
8. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +14.466
DNF. Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo)

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2017
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 165 points
2. Romano Fenati (Honda) 128 points
3. Aron Canet (Honda) 110 points
4. Jorge Martin (Honda) 89 points
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 85 points
16. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 25 points
19. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 16 points
23. Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 6 points

 

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“From the opening laps I noticed that the tyre was sliding a lot, something that continued throughout the race. I think the other riders also suffered the same problem, but adapted faster, so I knew that it would be difficult to get into the lead group. As the laps went by I was able to adapt to the grip that we had at each moment and I became more competitive, although on the straight I was getting overtaken and I had to recover the positions later. In any case, I am very happy with this Top 10 finish. Looking ahead to the second half of the season, we have to improve our first laps in the races and gain more grip. We have to work more with the hard tyre and see how everything evolves. Thanks to the team, because in the end we have achieved a good result that we deserved.”

52 DANNY KENT
“The whole weekend has been quite tough, right from FP1 with the 12-place penalty. We knew that it was going to be a difficult Grand Prix. Also, starting from 28th position is something that never helps at a circuit as short as this. In the race, I had managed to gain 6 positions, but the front tyre started to drop off a lot and later on I crashed. It’s a shame to end this Grand Prix like that, but I want to thank the team for giving me this opportunity to work with them again.”

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