The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will take part in their last race with the team this weekend, with both looking to close the 2017 season as positively as possible.

This weekend sees the last round of the 2017 Moto3 World Championship season take place in Valencia, an event which will also serve as a farewell to the Red Bull KTM Ajo team for Bo Bendsneyder and Niccolo Antonelli, who join new projects for next year. With the motivation to close their time on the team well, both will try to achieve a good result at a track where at the beginning of the year they completed a positive test.

Bo Bendsneyder can draw on the experience of last year’s race in Valencia on the KTM, in which he managed to cross the finish line 13th and was less than 9 seconds behind the winner. On the recent flyaway rounds, the Dutch rider was twice in the Top 10. On Sunday a two-year spell with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team comes to an end, as next year he will move up to Moto2.

Niccolo Antonelli arrives in Valencia after achieving his first podium of the year during the Asian rounds, in addition to being able to improve his feeling in both dry and wet conditions. Now he arrives at a circuit that he knows well, having competed there five times. He has a pole position and a best result of 7th, both from 2014. Last year he finished 16th in Valencia.

The trajectory of the Red Bull KTM Ajo team in Valencia has been brilliant so far, with four victories (Danny Kent in 2012, Jack Miller in 2014, Miguel Oliveira in 2015 and Brad Binder in 2016) and a podium (Sandro Cortese in 2012) in the last five seasons. The last race of the Moto3 World Championship campaign will be held this Sunday at 11:00am local time.

Circuit information – Ricardo Tormo
Length: 4.005m / 2.489 miles
Width: 12m
Left corners: 9
Right corners: 5
Longest straight: 876 m / 0.544 miles
Constructed: 1999

23 NICCOLO ANTONELLI
“The season has gone very quickly and we are already at the last round, like every year, in Valencia. This will also be my last race with Red Bull KTM Ajo, so I’m hoping even more to do my best. I like this track a lot. We have already tested there, so we have a base to work with, but it will be important to continue setting up well in order to be ready on Sunday. On raceday we will try to attack and be one of the protagonists in the top positions.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“It will be a special weekend. It will be my last race in the Moto3 class and also my last with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team after two years together. I want to thank them very much for their work over these two seasons, because I have learned a lot with them -both in my first year as a rookie and in this 2017. On and off the track we have been a team, so I have to thank everyone, especially my crew and Aki [Ajo], who trusted in me. I’m looking forward to this last race and I hope to have more luck and fight for top positions to finish the season strong, for best possible end to this stage of my career.”