Jose Antonio Rueda finishes in tenth position, with Xabi Zurutuza nineteenth.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders completed the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the first race of a triple header, on Sunday at Misano. Jose Antonio Rueda tried to stay in the main group and make up positions, eventually finishing in tenth position. Xabi Zurutuza made progress to earn nineteenth.

Rueda started the race from the third row of the grid, in ninth. He maintained his position on the early laps and focused on preventing the frontrunners from escaping. Keeping up the pace, he gained some places in the leading group, looking to earn at least a Top 5 finish. Despite not having the best feeling during the race, and with those ahead of him increasing their speed, Rueda came home tenth.

Zurutuza was forced to fight his way up the order from the start of the race at Misano. The Moto3 rookie had taken a step forward over the weekend and significantly improved his feeling with his bike. He was very competitive on the initial laps, but when he was approaching a new set of rivals, a collision with another rider prevented him from continuing his climb through the field. Zurutuza did not give up and continued to fight to get closer to the points, finally crossing the finish line 19th.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo will travel this week to contest the next round on the calendar: The Indonesian Grand Prix, from September 27-29th.

Race Results
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 33:53.212
2. Angel Piqueras (Honda) +0.175
3. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) +0.367
4. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) +0.295
5. Ivan Ortola (KTM) +2.963
10. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +6.012
19. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +30.796

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2024
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 271 points
2. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) 189 points
3. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 189 points
4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 184 points
5. Angel Piqueras (Honda) 118 points
7. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 105 points
22. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 11 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2024
1. CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team – 313 points
2. MT Helmets MSI – 270 points
3. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP – 252 points
4. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 – 239 points
5. Leopard Racing – 219 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo – 119 points

AKI AJO – Team Manager

“We are not completely happy about the Moto3 race. As a positive point, both riders finished the race, with a Top 10 for Jose Antonio. We need to analyse in depth why our performance level was not so high this weekend. Yesterday we improved during qualifying but we still lacked something for the race pace. Today our pace was not enough. From his side, Jose Antonio needs to analyse why we could not be in the group to fight for the podium. With Xabi, he completed another race to practice and to gain experience and learn. I believe and I hope that in the flyaways, where there are some tracks which suit both of them very well, with good results we will get more confidence for the future.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“We knew that today’s race was going to be difficult for us, and I think we lacked a bit of experience from the first race here. On the early laps I was able to stay in the group, because we were all fighting and the pace wasn’t very high. However, as soon as the others started to go faster I had a hard time keeping up with them. I’m not very happy with the weekend, but we have to learn from these races and keep going to get better results.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“We’ve finished our time at Misano. It was a Grand Prix in which, in terms of feeling with the bike and the track, I’m very happy with things, because the team and I have taken a step forward. This wasn’t reflected in the race result due to a collision with another rider early on. It was a positive Grand Prix with a bittersweet ending, but we’re ready to continue working for the next Grand Prix in Indonesia. It will be a new circuit for me, but both the team and I are ready.”