The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider ended the Thai Grand Prix 15th, but a penalty dropped him back to 19th place.

With high temperatures on Sunday in Buriram, the Thai Grand Prix race was a tough test for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team and their young Turkish rider, who rose to that challenge. Deniz Öncü was close to scoring his first World Championship points after crossing the finish line in 15th position, but a penalty for exceeding the track limits relegated him to 19th at the end of the contest.

Deniz made a great start from the seventh row of the grid, moving up five places as he went through the first corner. After completing lap one, the Turkish youngster was 15th, but a small incident saw him drop back several positions and he lost contact with the group. The 16-year-old managed to stay focused whilst riding alone, despite the intense heat, clocking the same times as the leading riders. A number of crashes ahead of him in the final phase of the race saw Öncü take the checkered flag in 15th. However, a penalty of 43 seconds at the end of the contest for exceeding the track limits left him 19th in the classification.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team will now continue their flyaway tour, traveling to the Twin Ring Motegi circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on the 18th-20th October weekend.

Results (Moto3 Race)
1. Albert Arenas (KTM) 38:09.383
2. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) +0.231
3. Alonso Lopez (Honda) +0.322
4. Marcos Ramirez (Honda) +0.459
5. Dennis Foggia (KTM) +0.666
19. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +55.804

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2019
1. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) 204 points
2. Aron Canet (KTM) 182 points
3. Tony Arbolino (Honda) 161 points
4. Marcos Ramirez (Honda) 136 points
5. John McPhee (Honda) 126 points
30. Can Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 4 points
34. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 0 points

Aki Ajo – team manager

“Deniz Öncü finished another race weekend in which he was able to continue gaining further experience. We’re very happy with the way he works and with his performance throughout this Grand Prix. At the end of the contest, unfortunately, he got a long lap penalty but still he showed a great attitude during practice and on Sunday. It has certainly been a great learning experience for him.”

53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“It was a pretty good day, in spite of the circumstances. The race was hard as the temperatures were very high. Also, from lap three onwards, I struggled on corner exit because I was skidding a lot and couldn’t accelerate in the way I wanted to. Despite that we finished in 15th position, but I had the bad luck of getting a long lap penalty at the end of the contest, which dropped me to 19th. I’ll build on everything I learned this weekend and now we must keep working to continue taking steps forward in the future.”