Pedro Acosta finishes in third position and Albert Arenas is ninth at Assen.

Pedro Acosta and Albert Arenas ended the Dutch GP strongly, with a sixth podium of the season for the former. His third place finish was accompanied by ninth for the latter, one of his best showings of the season to date.

High temperatures were a key factor in the Moto2 race at Assen. Acosta had been enjoying a positive weekend at the Dutch circuit despite it being the first time he had ridden there in Moto2. He climbed positions from his sixth place on the grid to occupy the podium spots with 9 laps to go. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider remained in the fight until serving a long lap penalty late on, but still held on to finish on the rostrum. It was his third consecutive podium this season, and his sixth overall, as the man second in the standings on 140 points moved to within 8 of the series leader.

Arenas concluded the weekend twelfth overall, with 41 points, after placing ninth at the Dutch TT. A great start allowed him to reach the Top 5 quickly, moving up from eleventh on the grid, and he stuck with the frontrunners for several laps. Despite some tough track conditions and his being separated from the leading group, he kept inside the Top 10 and crossed the line ninth, continuing his progress from recent rounds. Arenas is currently in twelfth place with 41 points.

Following the conclusion of an intense month of June, Red Bull KTM Ajo will return to action after the summer break, with the British GP from August 4-6th.

Results (Moto2 Race)
1. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 35:43.411
2. Ai Ogura (Kalex) +1.334
3. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +4.448
4. Fermin Aldeguer (Boscoscuro) +4.487
5. Aron Canet (Kalex) 4.884
9. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +10.615

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2023
1. Tony Arbolino (Kalex) 148 points
2. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 140 points
3. Jake Dixon (Kalex) 104 points
4. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) 92 points
5. Aron Canet (Kalex) 76
12. Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 41 points

Moto2 World Championship Team Standing 2023
1. Elf Marc VDS Racing Team 206 points
2. Red Bull KTM Ajo 181 points
3. Beta Tools SpeedUp 141 points
4. Pons Wegow Los40 113 points
5. Inde GASGAS Aspar Team 104 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager:
It was a really tough race in Moto2 and we are happy that both riders finished in good positions. This was Pedro’s first time at Assen with Moto2, and even in Moto3 he couldn’t do many laps here -so it was basically a new track for him. I think he and the group worked in the correct way to learn the track. In the race there were some really hectic moments and many of the riders were fighting to manage the front tyre due to the hot conditions. We handled it really well and we are really happy about both this third position and our general work and progress at the last few races. Albert had a really good, consistent weekend, with no mistakes and top results. We feel that we are on the right track to continue this consistent style and in our opinion this is the way to achieve top results at the end of the year.

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

I am really happy with the result. It was our first time at Assen with the Moto2 bike and we achieved our third consecutive podium. I think this will be good preparation for Silverstone, which will be another new circuit for me. The team worked really hard for a tough race, in which with the grip issues we made the odd mistake, but we have to be very happy with the result. We’re going into the summer break competitive, which I think is the most important thing.

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

I would consider it to have been a hard race. I had a good start and a good pace, but then I just had to survive. I suffered with the front end and it was a time to try to ride consistently, bring home points and more data. I think the work we did was useful this weekend, and also last weekend in Germany. This will help us to come back stronger and with clearer ideas, with a good base to start the second part of the season. Thanks to the team for the work they have done over these three intense weeks and I can’t wait to start training and preparing for the second part of the season.