The Turkish rider finishes the race in eighteenth position. Celestino Vietti suffers a crash on the final laps when fighting for the podium.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto2 riders had an intense race at the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday. Celestino Vietti was unable to finish after suffering a crash when battling for the podium. Deniz Öncü fought for points in a difficult contest, and crossed the finish line in eighteenth.

Vietti started his home Grand Prix from the front row of the grid, and dropped to fourth off the line. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider tried to stay as close as possible to the Top 3, balancing his ambition with optimal tyre management. On the final laps, the Italian managed to close the gap to fight for the podium in front of his home fans. However after having managed to cut almost a second, he unfortunately suffered a crash with three laps remaining, when riding in fourth position.

Öncü did not have the weekend he had hoped for, after the great progress made over the last few rounds. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider faced a very demanding race due to the high temperatures and tyre wear, which forced him to establish a good strategy. He steadily fell down the order, eventually moving out of the points and coming in eighteenth.

The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli now hosts the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, from September 20th-22nd.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“In Moto2 it was not an easy day today. Of course we expected more, especially that Celestino could fight for the top positions. He again showed his skills, especially at the end of the race with used tyres, and he managed things well before. He was able to catch the front group towards the end of the race, but unfortunately he made a small mistake and crashed when he was behind the Top 3. The positive thing in general in Moto2, and also in Cele’s case, is that we are improving and understanding things race by race. Of course, we are confident that we will fight for the top positions in the next few races as well. For Deniz it has not been an easy weekend, especially compared to the last two weekends. They were different tracks and different challenges. We need to always mention that he is still a rookie, and it’s quite normal. Personally, I was expecting a good race from him, after the podium in Aragon. It’s not so easy, but as we know, in Moto2 on a good day you can fight for podiums and on the bad days you can find yourself fighting for the Top 20, even if you are a World Champion. So it’s a good experience, once again, and for sure we will be much stronger when we come back.”

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“I feel a bit disappointed, because after the practice sessions I felt very good, and also in the race. Maybe following all the riders made my tyre temperature go higher and higher, but I had a good feeling. Anyway, that’s racing. We have another opportunity here in 15 days’ time, so we have to focus on this and continue working.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“Today we had a very hard race. Yesterday in qualifying we struggled also, especially at this small circuit, where it is very hard to pass riders and get to the front. I had an extra something up my sleeve that I could have used if I had qualified better, in order to fight with the stronger riders for the podium. We had a rough time during the race, but the positive is that we have learnt from it. Next week we will try to manage things better and hopefully we will be able to perform better than this weekend. We will work harder and better.”

The San Marino Grand Prix did not end in the way that Red Bull KTM Ajo had hoped, as following a solid weekend of practice sessions, Jose Antonio Rueda crashed out of the contest early on. Xabi Zurutuza finished in eighteenth position.

Rueda started the race from the fourth row of the grid. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was involved in a tight main group, in which unfortunately a collision with another rider ended his morning prematurely on the second corner.

Zurutuza had not secured a place in Q2 on Saturday, leaving him 22nd at the start. The Moto3 rider gained positions off the line and moved closer to the points, keeping up the pace and staying in his group. Despite dropping back several places over the course of the contest, he was able to recover and climb back up to eighteenth. Missing out on points, Zurutuza came home in eighteenth.

Red Bull KTM Ajo will be back at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in two weeks, for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from September 20th-22nd.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“It was not our day today in Moto3. We expected a lot more from the race and, of course, in Jose Antonio’s case it was a real pity that it finished early because of a mistake by another rider. But that’s Moto3 and that happens a lot with the traffic on the first few laps. Unfortunately, he didn’t do anything, it was the other rider who made a mistake and his bike took Jose Antonio out. After the win last time, the feeling was good, and also it was a collective experience on a different track. Our performance was maybe not the same as in Aragon, but still at a good level and it was a shame that we couldn’t show it. For Xabi, after a great race in Aragon, it was not an easy weekend, as this track is very different. At least the positive is that it is a collective experience and he finished the race. With both riders we feel that we have improved in recent races and we are really positive about coming here for the second time in two weeks’ time, to be able to improve our results.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“This weekend I felt in very good shape, and I came out very motivated and eager to fight with the riders at the front. I got off to a very good start but then another rider knocked me off at the first corner and that was the end of my race. In two weeks we will ride here again and show our pace.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“We’ve finished the San Marino GP. It was a Grand Prix that was a little more difficult for us. We worked hard to try to get the best result. I’m not completely happy but my team and I will keep working. In two weeks we’ll be back at this circuit and we’ll do our best to take a bigger step forward. That’s the goal.”