Pedro Acosta and Jaume Masia fight for victory until the end and take home a hard-fought fourth and sixth place, respectively.

The Red Bull Ring witnessed one of the tightest and most intense races of the season so far on Sunday, in which the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team once again demonstrated their high level of competitiveness. Acosta had a great performance at the Austrian Grand Prix, leading on several occasions before finally placing fourth. Masia also enjoyed a positive contest, finishing sixth after fighting with the leading group.

Acosta began from the third row of the grid, and pushed to the fullest from the start, going from seventh to first in the space of just two laps. The large leading group experienced constant changes, although the rookie proved to be one of the strongest riders and was always inside the Top 4. With three laps to go, the overtaking intensified, and Acosta tried to defend against the onslaught, taking the chequered flag fourth and missing out on the podium by just 0.048s.

The contest started well for Masia, who joined up with the leading group despite dropping from fourth to sixth on the first corner. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider began to set a very strong pace, riding below the race lap record on Lap 5 and taking the lead. The Spaniard would battle against constant overtaking manoeuvres from the rest of the competitors, and experienced a couple of scares on the final laps, eventually coming home sixth.

Acosta continues to lead the Moto3 World Championship with 196 points, whilst Masia is 5th with 95. The Red Bull KTM Ajo team will enjoy a week off before facing the next round of the season: the British Grand Prix, from August 27-29th.

Results (Moto3 Race)
1. Sergio Garcia (GasGas) 37:10.345
2. Deniz Öncü (KTM) +0.027
3. Dennis Foggia (Honda) +0.346
4. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.394
5. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) +0.462
6. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +0.794

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2021
1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 196 points
2. Sergio Garcia (GasGas) 155 points
3. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) 107 points
4. Dennis Foggia (Honda) 102 points
5. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 95 points

Moto3 World Championship Team Standing 2021
1. Red Bull KTM Ajo 291 points
2. Santander Consumer GASGAS 201 points
3. Petronas Sprinta Racing 135 points
4. Leopard Racing 132 points
5. Sterilgarda Max Racing Team 123 points

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER

“We had a very exciting race in Moto3 today. For us it is very positive that both riders fought in the leading group throughout the entire contest. We have to be happy, because both of them picked up a significant amount of points. Nevertheless, we have to analyse what points we can improve and reinforce for the next round. The most important thing is that both Pedro [Acosta] and Jaume [Masia] showed great pace throughout the weekend and did a great job with the team. We have to push to keep this up at Silverstone.”

5 JAUME MASIA

“We completed another Sunday, in which we fought with the leading group from the beginning to the end. Without a doubt, that is something positive because, in addition, it was a very long race. For the next round we will fine tune a couple of details with the information we took from today, with the aim of being stronger at the end of the contest.”

37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“We had a good race. The team worked hard throughout the weekend and we reached Sunday with the best version of the bike possible. It was a tough contest, and a very long one, in which our rivals were strong and pushed us to do our best. I am satisfied with fourth position, since we picked up more points and didn’t have many taken off us. I’m looking forward to the next round, where we will keep pushing.”