The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider climbs 11 places and finishes 12th in Barcelona; Jorge Martin retires with a mechanical problem.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 experienced mixed fortunes at the Catalan Grand Prix race on Sunday. Tetsuta Nagashima made a solid comeback to move up 11 places, climbing from 23rd position to take the chequered flag twelfth. His teammate, Jorge Martin, who ran a great pace at the beginning of the contest, was not able to conclude the ninth round of the 2020 season due to a mechanical problem.

Tetsuta Nagashima experienced the difficulties of starting from the back of the grid, from the sixth row, and dropped several places on the first lap. However, the Japanese managed to recover from 23rd and, without losing concentration, began to establish his pace, catching and passing several riders. He continued to progress and eventually moved his way into 12th at the end of the contest. His 11-place fight back earned him further points in the standings.

The race started well for Jorge Martin, who got off from the fifth row of the grid, overtaking three riders on the first corner to move up to ninth. As the laps went by, the Spaniard gave up several places, but was always amongst the points. With nine laps to go, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 talent dropped to 20th and would have to pull into the pits on the next lap with a mechanical problem. Despite his DNF, Martin feels satisfied with the work done over the weekend.

After the Catalan Grand Prix, Martin occupies 5th position in the Moto2 World Championship with 79 points, with Tetsuta Nagashima 6th with 72. Red Bull KTM Ajo will be in action again in two weeks at Le Mans, where the French Grand Prix takes place from October 9th to 11th.

Results – Race
1. Luca Marini (Kalex) 38:11.103
2. Sam Lowes (Kalex) +0.981
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) +4.399
4. Jorge Navarro (Speed Up) +5.608
5. Joe Roberts (Kalex) +5.797
12. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +18.910
DNF. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo)

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2020
1. Luca Marini (Kalex) 150 points
2. Enea Bastianini (Kalex) 130 points
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex) 114 points
4. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 103 points
5. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 79 points
6. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 72 points

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER

“It was important for us to get our full line-up back this weekend. Jorge [Martin] was unable to finish the race due to a mechanical problem, but he had shown a high level in practice. As for Tetsuta Nagashima, this weekend he again had to deal with various problems. In the contest he had a solid performance, but began from far back. Considering that he did not get off to a good start, it was very difficult for him to get to the front.”

88 JORGE MARTIN

“It was a shame about what happened to us today in the race, since we had a good start and we were recovering positions. In addition, I was ahead of riders who are above me in the standings and had a chance of chasing down others. Unfortunately, a mechanical problem prevented us from finishing. However, I am happy with the work we have done and with how the weekend went. I’m looking forward to going to Le Mans to keep on pushing.”

45 TETSUTA NAGASHIMA

“Overall, it was a tough weekend for us. On Friday, in FP2, there was a lot of wind and the next day we had tyre problems. Without these disadvantages in practice, I am sure we would have had a better contest. On the first few laps today we made a small mistake that we will analyse and try to solve for the coming rounds. However, I am happy with the race pace we showed. At Le Mans we will try our best again, as we always do, to try to stay at the front.”