The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider wins the Portuguese GP, claiming a third podium in as many races. Masia crashes out on the last lap and finish 9th.

Red Bull KTM Ajo and Pedro Acosta carried over their success from the previous two rounds in Qatar with victory at the Portuguese GP. The 16-year-old rookie rode a very intelligent race, in which he overcame some of the most experienced competitors in the class, extending his lead in the Moto3 World Championship as a result. His teammate, Jaume Masia, had a tough day, crashing out on the last lap when fighting for the win and he ended the Grand Prix ninth.

Acosta gained two spots on the grid due to a penalty for two other riders and began the 21-lap contest from the third row, in eighth. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 talent was strong from the start and, after getting off the line well, began to climb positions until he took the lead on Lap 3. Unable to break up the pack, he held back in second place to bide his time, eventually making a definitive pass on the penultimate corner of the last lap. The teenage sensation thus won his second race in a row and was on the podium for the third time in as many races.

It was not an easy start to the contest for Masia who, from seventh, dropped down to tenth on the opening corner. However, the Spaniard fought back, and thanks to his pace would catch up with the leading group. In the second half of the race, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider stepped up his rhythm and got up to third, before suffering misfortune with a crash at Turn 5 of the final lap when challenging for victory. Masia finished in ninth place.

Following the Portuguese Grand Prix, Pedro Acosta remains leader of the Moto3 World Championship with 70 points. Jaume Masia is second with 39. The Red Bull KTM Ajo duo will now enjoy a week off, before returning to action at the Spanish GP at the Jerez-Circuit Angel Nieto from April 30th to May 2nd.

Results (Moto3 Race)

1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 38:01.773
2. Dennis Foggia (Honda) +0.051
3. Andrea Migno (Honda) +0.584
4. Ayumu Sasaki (KTM) +0.615
5. Gabriel Rodrigo (Honda) +0.675
9. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +12.487

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2021

1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 70 points
2. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 39 points
3. Darryn Binder (Honda) 36 points
4. Niccolo Antonelli (KTM) 36 points
5. Andrea Migno (Honda) 29 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager
“Today we saw another impressive race by Pedro Acosta, who is a lovely young boy. We are all very happy and surprised by his performances at the start of the season. However, we have also been amazed by his attitude and by how hard he works. We are delighted to have someone like this on our team. Jaume [Masia] was also having a good race amongst the leading group, and it’s a shame that he suffered that crash on the last lap. I’m sure that we will see him on the podium again at the coming races, as he is a fast and experienced rider.”

5 JAUME MASIA

“It was a pity about the crash at the end of the race. We suffered a little more than we expected today, so now we have to analyse the data from all of our laps to understand what happened. What I can take away is that we were fighting for the podium. I want to congratulate my teammate, because he is doing a great job.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“It was a good race. In the warm-up we had already shown that we had a strong rhythm. We had a clear strategy, which was to push from the start of the race and break up the group. When I saw that the pace my rivals had was strong, I considered it a better plan to stick with the pack. The last lap was tough as you could feel the tyre wear, but we achieved another victory and I want to thank the team for this, because they did an excellent job throughout the weekend.”