Jose Antonio Rueda finishes sixteenth, with Xabi Zurutuza eighteenth.

An atypical race in Thailand for the Moto3 World Championship riders saw the contest reduced to 12 laps due to the wet conditions. Jose Antonio Rueda placed just outside the points in sixteenth, while Xabi Zurutuza recovered positions and finished eighteenth.

Rueda started the race from sixteenth on the grid. The track conditions were tricky, with both dry and wet areas, and at the same time the threat of rain was present on every lap. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider tried to maintain a constant pace from the early stages of the race, focusing on claiming points. In the final laps he entered into that fight, and he would cross the finish line in fifteenth position, although a yellow flag meant that he ultimately placed sixteenth.

Zurutuza also faced a difficult first race at the Chang International Circuit. The change in weather conditions compared to previous days forced him to modify his strategy, without having any references in the wet. He started the race from the back of the grid and tried to make his way up through the field, maintaining his pace as the track dried out and continuing to close the gap on his rivals. He took the chequered flag in eighteenth position.

Red Bull KTM Ajo will end their trip to Asia next weekend with the Malaysian Grand Prix, from November 1st-3rd at the Sepang International Circuit.

Moto3 Results Race
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 20:29.345
2. Luca Lunetta (Honda) +0.353
3. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) +0.522
4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) +0.936
5. Taiyo Furusato (KTM) +1.683
16. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +16.945
18. Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +19.439

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2024
1. David Alonso (CFMOTO) 371 points
2. Daniel Holgado (GASGAS) 236 points
3. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 225 points
4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 204 points
5. David Muñoz (KTM) 162 points
8. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 128 points
22. Xabi Zurutuza (Redd Bull KTM Ajo) 11 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2024
1. CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team – 416 points
2. MT Helmets MSI – 315 points
3. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP – 313 points
4. Leopard Racing – 290 points
5. Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 – 289 points
7. Red Bull KTM Ajo – 142 points

AKI AJO – Team Manager

“It has been a challenging weekend in Moto3. First of all, our qualifying results weren’t the best this weekend, so this didn’t make the race easier. The weather conditions for the race were very challenging once again, but finally all the riders and teams decided to go with slicks. The rain didn’t come during the race, so it made it simpler in the end. It was not our best race day; at least our riders got better positions, but we cannot be completely happy about our performance in qualifying and also today. We will analyse everything and we will fight to go back to the top positions at Sepang.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“Today’s race was difficult and the track conditions did not help us. Yesterday in QP we struggled to find the pace, and that hindered the race a bit, as we started from very far back on the grid. At the beginning the track was quite wet and it was difficult to find a dry line, and it was tough to overtake. At the start I lost positions, but in the end I managed to make some back up. It’s time to learn from this race to improve in Malaysia.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“We’ve finished the weekend here in Thailand. We’ve learned quite a few things and we’re leaving here with our sights set on Malaysia. It was a race in which I gave it my all. The conditions were difficult because I started quite far back. We’ll take away what we’ve learned and I hope we learn from our mistakes to move forward.”