Ajo Academy rider fights for podium in PreMoto3, finishing a prematurely concluded race in fourth place.

Barry Baltus maintained his good form in the PreMoto3 category of the RFME Spanish Championship in its latest round at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, placing fourth in a Saturday race. The Ajo Academy rider was involved in the fight for the podium positions, but a red flag cut the race short before he could make a final push.

The fourth round of the season saw Baltus riding well throughout the meeting. After a session adapting to the track onboard his BeOn machine, clocking a 2:01.704 top lap, in the second qualifying session the Belgian lowered his lap time to 2:01.490 -occupying eighth position on the starting grid.

Starting from the third row, a good start brought Baltus up to fourth after the first lap. Battling against five other riders for the rostrum, with three laps remaining he got up into third place. However, a red flag waved just before the final lap meant that the race was brought to an early end, leaving the Ajo Academy rider in fourth.

Baltus adds a further 13 points to his tally, taking him to 50 in the overall standings and 5th place. The PreMoto3 category returns to action on July 17th at the MotorLand Aragon circuit.

Results PreMoto3 Race
1. Sergio Garcia (BeOn) 20:10.856
2. Andreas Perez (BeOn) +0.265
3. Adrian Carrasco (Mir Racing) +6.726
4. Barry Baltus (Ajo Academy) +6.972
5. Alex Toledo (Mir Racing) +7.053

PreMoto3 Championship Standing 2016
1. Sergio Garcia (BeOn) 125 points
2. Alex Toledo (Mir Racing) 77 points
3. Julian Giral (BeOn) 58 points
4. Miguel Parra (BeOn) 50 points
5. Barry Baltus (Ajo Academy) 50 points

7 BARRY BALTUS
“I’m very happy with how this weekend went. Although I had already raced at this circuit two years ago, at first I struggled to adapt to the new chicane. However, I gained confidence with every session. In the race I was able to fight for the podium and keep the pace with other riders, and I waited to attack late on off a slipstream. Unfortunately, we had to settle for fourth after the red flag. We have been making very good progress in recent races and I thank the team for all the work they are doing.”