11 year old Belgian rider will be Academy’s first participant in RFME Spanish Championship in Pre-Moto3 class.

The Ajo Motorsport Academy today incorporated a new member to their project, with the arrival of Belgian rider Barry Baltus. The 11 year old will be the first representative of the Ajo Motorsport Academy in the Pre-Moto3 class of the RFME Spanish Championship. The move comes after the Finnish structure last week presented Tetsuta Nagashima as their FIM CEV Moto2 rider for 2016.

Despite his youth, Barry Baltus has attracted the attention of Aki Ajo with his talent, the way he trains and how he enjoys himself on the bike. Last season he finished second in the RFME Spanish Championship in Moto4, with a total of 3 wins and two podiums from 7 races. In 2016 Baltus moves up to the 7-round Pre-Moto3 category. Ahead of the opening round of the season at the Albacete Circuit on April 10th, the Belgian will begin testing this Tuesday with his new team and new bike -a BeOn.

With this new addition, the Ajo Motorsport structure is represented in three different series: The World Championship (MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3), the FIM CEV Repsol (European Moto2 Championship) and Spanish Championship (Pre-Moto3). The move marks an increase in support for young riders as they make their way up to the elite.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“We have always liked working with young riders and discovering new talents. I think the whole team are very excited about this project for the Ajo Motorsport Academy in the Pre-Moto3 Spanish Championship. Barry Baltus will be our first rider in this series. Last year, in the Moto4 Spanish Championship, we all saw that he had a great talent and stood out above many other riders. What I really liked was the method of work that he follows, taking the bike out every day -sometimes for many hours. This is very important for future riders, who need to test and train in various disciplines like motocross, dirt-track and supermoto. They always need to enjoy themselves on the bike, which is what really matters.”

Barry Baltus – Rider

“I still can’t believe that I’m part of the Ajo Motorsport Academy; I am very happy. It’s amazing to be joining this structure and to meet Aki [Ajo] and his team, from whom I’m sure I can learn a lot, because they have been with great champions like Marc Marquez and Johann Zarco. Aki has told me that this is just the beginning of my career and I have a lot ahead of me. The goal will be to learn and make progress at a set of circuits which fortunately I already know. Entering such a professional and structured team will be a big change for me, that I want to take advantage of to the fullest. I am just looking forward to tomorrow and my first test with the bike and the team.”