Bo Bendsneyder and Niccolo Antonelli take on three Grands Prix on Asian soil, starting this weekend at Motegi.

The Moto3 World Championship moves into the final stretch of the season with three consecutive races, kicking off at Motegi, Japan. Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Bo Bendsneyder and Niccolo Antonelli may not have seen their hard work and perseverance rewarded in recent races, but have previous experience of placing on the podium during the flyaway rounds.

Bo Bendsneyder will have his second experience of racing in Japan this weekend. Last year he had a difficult debut at Motegi, finishing 27th in qualifying and missing out on points in the race despite recovering 9 places. The Dutchman will look to again be among the fastest riders and regain the good feeling he has had over the last few rounds.

Niccolo Antonelli has good memories of Twin Ring Motegi. Since his debut season in 2012, the Italian has always scored points at the Japanese track, including three Top 10s -2013, 2014 and 2016- and a victory in 2015. Antonelli will look to maintain this positive momentum at the Asian track and get back amongst the points, after he just missed out on them at Aragon.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team have traditionally achieved good results at Motegi, such as the victory for Danny Kent in 2012 or the podiums for Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder in 2015 and 2016.

Sunday’s race takes place at 11:00am local time -4:00am CET.

Circuit information – Twin Ring Motegi
Length: 4.801 m / 2.983 miles
Width: 15 m
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 762 m / 0.473 miles
Constructed: 1997
Modified: 1997

23 NICCOLO ANTONELLI
“I like the three races that are coming up now a lot and I have always been fast in them. I enjoy spending the three weeks travelling and living with the team. Motegi is a nice track that I love; it’s my favorite of these three. We will have to work on the setup of the bike, especially with our braking, as it is a stop and go circuit. I’m very motivated to get a good result.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“I can’t wait to start the flyaways. It’s a special moment of the year, in which we spend many weeks away from home and have flight after flight. This weekend we’re at Motegi, a track that -like Phillip Island and Sepang- we only ride at once a year, so it is difficult to have it 100% studied. In fact, it will only be the second time I’ve ridden there. I hope things go better than last year, because we found it really hard. I sincerely believe it will be different, because my riding style has changed and is better suited to the characteristics of the circuit. I hope to get a good result.”