Dutch rider finishes 11th at the Red Bull Spanish Grand Prix, having started 24th on the grid. Niccolo Antonelli suffers a crash on Lap 1, remounting to place 22nd.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team completed a demanding weekend at the Jerez Circuit on Sunday. In the fourth Moto3 race of the year, Bo Bendsneyder managed to fight back from low down on the grid, placing eleventh and taking his first points of the season. Teammate Niccolo Antonelli, meanwhile, crashed on Lap 1, although he would take the chequered flag 22nd after rejoining the race.

Bendsneyder racked up his first five points in the Moto3 World Championship this season, thanks to a spirited fightback through the field. The Dutchman, who started from 24th, began the race well and was part of a large second group battling for 11th place. Bendsneyder took a step forward from the practice sessions at Jerez, and thanks to his running the same pace as the top riders, he was able to progressively gain positions to finish the 23 laps at the front of his group.

For Antonelli, the day was hit by misfortune. After a good qualifying session on Saturday had put him sixth on the grid, he had been optimistic about his hopes for the race. Following a good start in which he moved into fourth, the Italian suffered a crash at Turn 6 of the opening lap. Antonelli could not avoid contact with another rider after going slightly wide on the previous corner, and was sent to the ground. He remounted his KTM, however, and completed the race in 22nd position.

After the fourth round of the season, Antonelli is in 15th position in the overall standings with 11 points. Bendsneyder is 22nd, with 5 points. The next round of the Moto3 World Championship will be held at Le Mans, France, from May 19th-21st. Beforehand, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team will test this Tuesday at Jerez.

Results (Race)
1. Aron Canet (Honda) 41:25.706
2. Romano Fenati (Honda) +0.031
3. Joan Mir (Honda) +0.155
4. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) +0.358
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +0.946
11. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +7.431
22. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +37.799

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2017
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 74 points
2. Romano Fenati (Honda) 65 points
3. Jorge Martin (Honda) 59 points
4. John McPhee (Honda) 49 points
5. Aron Canet (Honda) 43 points
15. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 11 points
22. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 5 points

23 NICCOLO ANTONELLI
“The start went well and the first corner wasn’t bad. I went into the corner 6 a little open, there was little space there and another rider made a mistake ahead of me. I tried to pick the bike up and avoid the impact, but I crashed. We were able to continue and finish the race, but it was not the result we wanted here. Tuesday’s test is going to be very important, we will work to improve our performance and be well prepared for the next race.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“After the way practice and qualifying went this weekend, I reacted today. In addition, we knew we had done some very good tests here and we knew what we could do at this circuit. The results from the first two days were a little far off what we had done in the test. Yesterday we discussed it with the team and with Aki [Ajo], agreeing that we were not where we should be. But today we took a big step forward and that gives me a lot of confidence. I’m happy with 11th place and I want to thank the team for all their work; this result is for them. We had worked very hard for three races and we hadn’t been able to score points, so I want to thank the team very much.”

AKI AJO – TEAM MANAGER
“I’m happy that after some difficult initial races, Bo [Bendsneyder] has taken a step forward today. He has done a good job regaining his best feeling, and hopefully he keeps going in this way and maintains this confidence to reach our goal of being at the top. It has been an unfortunate day for Niccolo [Antonelli], as his race almost ended on the first lap. He made a small mistake at Turn 6, but these things happen. We will continue working this Tuesday during the test to improve and get a good result at the next round.”