Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders finish 17th and 18th, respectively, at MotorLand Aragon after fighting for points until the last lap.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team finished the Aragon GP more satisfied with their performance than their results, having battled for points throughout the race. Niccolo Antonelli finished 18th after an unlucky last lap, dropping down from 11th, while Bo Bendsneyder placed one position ahead, in 17th. The race was contested over just 13 laps and started late, at 11:40am, due to the thick mist that also forced the postponement of the warmup.

The progression of Antonelli, who started 20th, took him into the points with five laps remaining. Running a great pace, the Italian approached the lead group and was in 11th on the last lap. However, he went wide on the first corner and was clipped by another rider, relegating him to 18th place at the chequered flag.

Bendsneyder was also less than three seconds behind the leading group, but was unable to get into the points-scoring positions at any time during the 13-lap race. The Dutchman lost time on the long straight, having to recover the lost seconds on the corners. Nevertheless, he maintained a steady pace and fought in his group to finish right in front of his teammate, in 17th place.

After fourteen rounds, Bendsneyder is 13th overall with 48 points, while Antonelli is 20th with 16 points. The Red Bull KTM Ajo will extend their stay in Aragon for a day of testing on Monday.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“It was another difficult weekend in Moto3. Friday was very positive, Saturday wasn’t a bad day for us, except for the lap times in the qualifying. Although we know that it is a challenge in this class, we have to start from better positions on the grid. Today in the race we weren’t far from the front, but we have to find some solutions because we just didn’t manage to catch them, although our pace is not bad at all. ”

Results (Race)
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 25:57.607
2. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +0.043
3. Enea Bastianini (Honda) +0.051
4. Jorge Martin (Honda) +0.170
5. Aron Canet (Honda) +0.392
17. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +2.659
18. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +2.665

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2017
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 271 points
2. Romano Fenati (Honda) 191 points
3. Aron Canet (Honda) 173 points
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) 137 points
5. Jorge Martin (Honda) 134 points
13. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 48 points
20. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 16 points

23 NICCOLO ANTONELLI
“It was a shame because on the first corner of the last lap, when we were fighting for some higher positions, I lost the rear a little and I had to run off track in order not to fall. It’s a pity, because I was overtaken by six riders and I really wanted to take those points after how qualifying went. Today I felt much better; yesterday I had a fever that affected me a lot, but I felt good physically today. It was a very hard fought race, and I hope that next time we can do better.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“This circuit suits my riding style quite well, but only the corners; on the straights I lose a lot of time. We had a good pace, as even when the group was riding in the 1:59s I was putting in 1:58s, but whenever I caught them they would get away on the straights again. That happened throughout the race, although I am happy with the times we set. Tomorrow we have a test here, so we will try to find something that will help us on these sections of the circuit and we will try some new parts, which will also help us arrive more prepared in Japan.”