The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo finish qualifying in fifth and eleventh position, respectively.

Deniz Öncü and Jose Antonio Rueda continued to make progress at the Dutch TT on Saturday. The Moto3 riders had a positive day in which they worked to achieve good positions on the starting grid. Öncü claimed fifth despite having to go through Q1, while Rueda was eleventh after an outstanding job in qualifying.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders contested Practice 3 in optimal conditions. Öncü and Rueda had a better feeling than on Friday and took a step forward, riding together for part of the session. The Turkish rider improved his times from day one and had appeared to get into the Top 10, but unfortunately his best lap was cancelled, leaving him 14th with a time of 1:42.252, set on his penultimate lap. He was 17th overall. Rueda was also solid at the Dutch circuit and made a big step forward. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider felt much more comfortable on Saturday and, after 14 laps, set the second fastest time of 1:41.780 in the final stretch of Practice. This took him directly into Q2 as third fastest overall.

Öncü started Q1 with an almost immediate hot lap. He remained among the Top 4 from start to finish and sealed his spot in Q2 with the third best time of 1:42.217, achieved on his last lap. In Q2 he continued to improve and fought for the top positions on the grid. After 7 laps he put down his best time of the weekend, a 1:41.520, which placed him in fifth position and on the second row. Rueda was confident and determined to consolidate his steady progress over the weekend. Whilst he struggled to find an optimal feeling in Q2, he would at one stage occupy second place. Eventually, a 1:41.801 placed him eleventh on the grid.

The 20-laps Moto3 Dutch GP race will take place this Sunday at 11 AM local time at the TT Circuit Assen.

Results (Qualifying)
1. David Muñoz (KTM) 1:41.181
2. Joel Kelso (CFMOTO) 1:41.472 +0.291
3. Riccardo Rossi (Honda) 1:41.510 +0.329
4. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 1:41.512 +0.331
5. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.520 +0.339
11. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:41.801 +0.620

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

Compared to yesterday we took a step forward with the bike and also my riding. It’s a hard weekend for us, as this circuit is one of the toughest this year for me. We are pushing on every lap and we will start from the second row, which is a good spot. Tomorrow we will fight to get a good result in the race.

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

In Practice 3 I felt comfortable with the bike from the beginning. We have taken a small step forward and it has helped me to improve my feeling and set a good lap. In qualifying things did not go as I would have liked because I did not feel strong with the front tyre and I couldn’t put together a full lap at the pace I wanted. It did allow me to start in the Top 11, although I knew I could have done more. The most positive thing is that we have a good feeling for tomorrow and I’m confident I can be at the front.