Celestino Vietti finished in ninth position, with Deniz Öncü in fifteenth place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 duo concluded the Qatar Grand Prix on a high note. Both Celestino Vietti and Deniz Öncü had a good race, with the former moving up to ninth and the latter fifteenth.

Vietti started the first race of the season from the sixth row of the grid, in 16th. He remained in that spot during the early stages of the race, studying the situation and looking for the best moment to attack. After the midway point, Vietti increased the pace and began to climb up the order, going on to fight for the Top 10. The Italian was able to control the situation in a race in which tyre management was essential. After 18 laps, Vietti finally placed ninth in his first Grand Prix with Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Öncü contested his first Moto2 race this Sunday. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider started from 21st on the grid, and gained confidence over the course of the race, moving up positions and edging closer to the Top 15. During a demanding battle he made progress, reached the points positions and secured 15th place, finishing inside the points in his first experience in the intermediate class.

Round 2, the Portuguese Grand Prix, will be held from March 22nd-24th at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Race Results
1. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) 35:45.595
2. Barry Baltus (Kalex) +0.055
3. Sergio Garcia (Boscoscuro) +0.742
4. Ai Ogura (Boscoscuro) +1.514
5. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) +5.100
9. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +10.710
15. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +22.568

Moto2 World Championship Standing 2024
1. Alonso Lopez (Boscoscuro) 25 points
2. Barry Baltus (Kalex) 20 points
3. Sergio Garcia (Boscoscuro) 16 points
4. Ai Ogura (Boscoscuro) 13 points
5. Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) 11 points
9. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 7 points
15. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1 point

Moto2 Teams World Championship Standings 2024
1. MT Helmets – MSi 29 points
2. SYNC Speed Up 25 points
3. RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP 23 points
4. QJMotor Gresini Moto2 19 points
5. Onlyfans American Racing Team 19 points
6. Red Bull KTM Ajo 8 points

Aki Ajo – Team Manager:

“Even the results weren’t top today, we feel positive in Moto2. As we all know, it’s a challenging year with a new tyre manufactures and new WP suspensions for this year. It’s like a learning process for all of us but in any case it was a promising weekend and especially a promising race day. We caught lot of information to understand the new package and both of our riders were constant and quite strong at the end of the race. With Cele’s experience and Deniz as a talented rookie we feel that in the next races we will be closer to the top.”

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“The race was quite good for us. We understood the new tyres well, and how we have to manage the race. It’s interesting to know that and continue improving for the next races. We lacked something at the beginning of the race, but we know which points we have to do better in the next few races. Thanks to my team for all their work during the weekend. We will try to do better in Portimao.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“We finished our first weekend of the season and it was a very good experience for me in order to improve more for the coming races. At the moment our pace is not the best but I’ll use this experience to improve. I took my first point on my debut so I’m motivated to improve and do better and better every race. Now it’s time to work hard and understand everything to get more competitive.”