The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider finishes second, whilst Tetsuta Nagashima climbs 10 positions to place 12th in Valencia.

Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 and Jorge Martin are in great form at the end of the season, and on Sunday they placed on the podium at the European Grand Prix. With his second position, the Spaniard now has five rostrum finishes in 2020. Teammate Tetsuta Nagashima made progress in the race and fought back 10 places, to cross the finish line 12th. The pair had needed to adjust from an almost entirely wet weekend to a dry contest.

Martin began from the second row of the grid and got off the line well. Despite a lack of dry track time over the course of the weekend, the Spaniard set a great pace from the start – which has allowed him to latch onto the second group. On Lap 7, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider chased down the rivals at the front, and shortly thereafter made a series of passes to get into the Top 3. Whilst the race leader broke away, Martin followed him and ended in second position. The podium was the 27th of his World Championship career.

Nagashima pushed very hard from far back on the grid, already moving up three places on the opening lap. The Japanese hunted down his rivals and overtook them with firm passes throughout the contest. Past the halfway mark, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 rider was up amongst the points spots, and would eventually take the chequered flag in 12th. Nagashima was strong on race day to make up 10 positions, thanks to notable progress.

Martin occupies 5th position of the Moto2 World Championship with 125 points. Nagashima is 7th with 85. Red Bull KTM Ajo will return to the Ricardo Tormo Circuit next week for the Valencia GP, held from November 13-15th.

Results – Race
1. Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex) 40:06.441
2. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +1.941
3. Remy Gardner (Kalex) +3.553
4. Enea Bastianini (Kalex) +4.494
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) +4.648
12. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +13.209

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2020
1. Enea Bastianini (Kalex) 184 points
2. Sam Lowes (Kalex) 178 points
3. Luca Marini (Kalex) 165 points
4. Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex) 155 points
5. Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 125 points
7. Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 85 points

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER

“It was a challenging weekend in Moto2, as the weather was inconsistent. We saw a lot of crashes on Sunday, so Jorge [Martin] taking second place today feels like a victory. He managed the contest well, without making any mistake. As for Tetsuta [Nagashima], his race pace was good. At this Grand Prix he suffered the same problem as at previous rounds: we have to qualify better if we want to be fighting for the top positions.”

88 JORGE MARTIN

“I am very happy with the result today. It is a deserved podium and one that will give us extra energy for the second round in Valencia next weekend. It was a tough race due to the track conditions, but we managed to stay focused and finish the contest with a more than positive second position. Now we are looking to next Sunday, where we will try to repeat this good result.”

45 TETSUTA NAGASHIMA

“It’s a shame that we qualified so far back, as our pace today in the race was good. I am certain that if we had started higher up the order, we could have fought for the Top 5. The positive thing is that we have a second chance at this circuit next week, which we will try to make the most of.”