Ajo Academy rider finishes second at Albacete Circuit, moving into third in the Moto2 European Championship.

Tetsuta Nagashima continued his strong progress in the Moto2 European Championship at the series’ fourth round. The Japanese rider finished second in Albacete, adding 20 points to his tally and moving into third in the overall standings with 85.

Saturday’s qualifying session was complicated by high track temperatures, exceeding 50ºC. In the first stint Nagashima achieved the sixth fastest time -1:32.707-, while in the second, under even hotter conditions, with much heat, he improved his position but not his time. He was third with a 1:32.851 lap, but took sixth on the grid.

In Sunday’s race, the Ajo Academy rider had a poor start that relegated him to eighth place. However, his progress on the early laps took him up to second in quick order. Riding alone, he maintained this position for the final half of the race. With his latest podium finish, Nagashima moves into third in the series.

The next round of the Moto2 European Championship will be held at the Autodromo do Algarve (Portugal), on August 28th.

Results – Race
1. Steven Odendaal (Kalex), 31:08.968
2. Tetsuta Nagashima (Ajo Academy), +2.791
3. Alan Techer (NTS NH-6), +4.955
4. Eric Granado (Kalex), +9.629
5. Iker Lecuona (Kalex Honda), +18.193

FIM CEV Moto2 Championship Standing 2016
1. Steven Odendaal (Kalex), 136 points
2. Alan Techer (NTS NH-6), 88 points
3. Tetsuta Nagashima (Ajo Academy), 85 points
4. Eric Granado (Kalex), 79 points
5. Iker Lecuona (Kalex Honda), 50 points

45 TETSUTA NAGASHIMA
“This weekend has been tough. Steven [Odendaal] was very fast. We tried many things, but I struggled to put in a good lap despite having a steady pace. We worked hard with the team on finding a setup for the bike that made us fast. The heat has also been an important factor throughout this weekend at Albacete, but despite this, today in the race we got second place and very important points for the championship. As it stands, we are just three points off the rider in second.”