Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders face the second race of 2020 this weekend at the Spanish GP, after a long and uncertain wait.

After the suspension of the season due to the global health emergency four months ago, Raul Fernandez and Kaito Toba will be back on-board their KTM this week at the Spanish GP. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo are excited about what will be a difficult Grand Prix, and motivated to claim a good result.

Fernandez travels to Jerez with an optimistic mind-set, buoyed by his history at the track. He claimed two podiums there in the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship and a third in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. During the lockdown period the Spaniard has been working on maintaining his fitness, which impressed at the opening contest of the year in Qatar. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider has the goal of scoring Top 5 finishes at as many races as possible in 2020.

For Kaito Toba, the return of the competition and the packed calendar is a challenge that he faces with great motivation. The Japanese arrives in Jerez targeting involvement in the fight for the top positions in the class. The 20-year-old rider will take advantage of his previous experience at the track, where he also enjoyed a positive test back in February.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team will contest their second round of the year on Sunday, July 19th at 11 am (local time), in a 22-lap race. In the past, the team have accumulated several achievements at Jerez: A victory for Brad Binder in 2016, two second places – for Luis Salom in 2013 and Miguel Oliveira in 2015 -, and two third places – for Sandro Cortese in 2012 and Brad Binder in 2015.

Circuit information – Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit
Length: 4.423 m / 2.748 miles
Width: 11 metres / 36.09 ft.
Left corners: 5
Right corners: 8
Longest straight: 607 m / 0.377 miles
Constructed: 1986

25 RAUL FERNANDEZ

“It has been a difficult time. We have been training without a set return date up until now. Luckily, all that is behind us and this week the competition is back. I am very excited and I am looking forward to the Spanish GP. However, it will not be easy because, although we have been training, we have not worked with our bikes for four months – since we used others to train. However, both the team and I are very positive.
Right now we don’t have to think about the title, since we have a calendar that has never been put into practice before. It’s tight and there are circuits that are repeated. We have to be very consistent and finish all the races in the Top 5; at the end of the season we will assess whether we have a chance to fight for the World Championship. For now I am focused on Jerez, where I hope to fight for top positions.”

27 KAITO TOBA

“I am very happy to finally be able to return to the circuits. I am looking forward more than ever to getting back on my bike and racing again. After these past few months of inactivity, we now have a very tight calendar, but it doesn’t scare me; I take it as a challenge. However, I am very aware that if we want to compete for the title, it will be very important not to make any mistakes and we must be very consistent with our results. My objective for this round at Jerez is to fight for the podium places.”