Red Bull KTM Ajo rider manages to finish in wet season opener of the Moto3 Junior World Championship at Estoril, despite suffering a crash on Lap 7.

Estoril hosted the opening round of the 2019 FIM CEV season this Sunday, with a wet race for the Moto3 Junior World Championship. Red Bull KTM Ajo and Deniz Öncü had enjoyed a solid weekend, leading the way in the first qualifying session and claiming second on the grid in QP2. However, the heavy rain at the Portuguese track on race day hindered the young Turkish rider, who crossed the finish line 28th despite a crash at 10 laps from the end.

The inaugural contest of the Moto3 Junior World Championship, scheduled for 17 laps, was declared wet by Race Direction ahead of the start. Deniz Öncü, who took off from second place, would drop back five places off the line, but managed to remain inside the Top 10 and planned a move back up the order. Unfortunately, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider would crash on Lap 7, when in eighth -and was forced back into the pits. Öncü would go back out to put further laps under his belt, and took the chequered flag in 28th.

Despite his misfortune this time around, Red Bull KTM Ajo leaves Estoril satisfied with the work done this weekend. The next FIM CEV round will take place at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit [Valecia, Spain] on April 28th, where the Moto3 Junior World Championship will run two races.

Results – Race
1. Barry Baltus (KTM) 34:27.653
2. Xavier Artigas (Honda) +1.853
3. Jose Julian Garcia (KTM) +4.836
4. Mario Suryo Aji (Honda) +9.826
5. Jeremy Alcoba (Husqvarna) +13.430
28. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +3 Laps

Moto3 Junior World Championship Standing
1. Barry Baltus (KTM) 25 points
2. Xavier Artigas (Honda) 20 points
3. Jose Julian Garcia (KTM) 16 points
4. Mario Suryo Aji (Honda) 13 points
5. Jeremy Alcoba (Husqvarna) 11 points
-. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 0 points

53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“The weekend was going pretty well until the race, when I suffered a crash that ended my progress. I felt good in practice and had rode comfortable in both dry and wet conditions. Today the race was under the rain and that helped me to gain experience -even if we missed out on the points. We have to take the positives away from the first round of the 2019 FIM CEV season and prepare well for the next race in Valencia. The Ricardo Tormo Circuit is a track that I like, so I will give my best to try to get a good result there.”