The Austrian Grand Prix ended with mixed fortunes for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Pedro Acosta came home in second position after leading for a large part of the race, while Albert Arenas did not finish after crashing out.

Acosta started from pole position for the third time this season, and made a great start that allowed him to increase his lead off the line. The high temperatures had a big impact on the 23-lap contest at the Red Bull Ring, with tyre management vital. Acosta increased his lead on the opening laps and tried to consolidate the position. After the midway mark, he struggled to keep up the pace, and a small mistake made him lose the lead. He would eventually take the chequered flag in second and move up to 176 points in the overall standings -still ahead of his nearest rival for the top spot.

Arenas started the last day of the Austrian GP with determination and willing to get a good result after his good feeling on Saturday. He maintained his position on the early laps and tried to fight for a place at the front, but an error dropped him to last position and a subsequent fall ended his afternoon. With 43 points, he is fourteenth in the overall standings.

The next round will be the Catalan Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, from September 1st-3rd.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“Pedro had a very strong weekend from the beginning and a second place in these conditions here is always positive. The good point from the last races is that we increased our lead in the championship, which is maybe the most important thing. We know that Pedro is now the man to beat for other riders so we need to keep calm and continue in the same way, as the season is still long. As for Albert, I have to say that we are really happy about the work he did this weekend. He was very consistent despite an unfortunate mechanical problem, but still he was also strong in the practices and in qualifying. Unfortunately we made a mistake in the race and we could not finish.We still have many races to go so we need to keep focused and keep the progress up.”

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

“We earned another podium, although it’s painful not to have been able to win in Austria. It is the home of KTM and Red Bull and I wanted to achieve that result for them. We keep picking up points, we are a little better in the standings and we are being very competitive. We have to continue on this path to continue getting good results.”

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

“After how things went yesterday, we hoped we could have a good race. We had a good starting position and I was confident that we could finish well on Sunday after the feeling we had yesterday. Unfortunately I had a crash and we couldn’t finish the race. I want to apologise to the team after they worked so hard this weekend. We will take away the positives: We have taken a step forward and improved our feeling. We have the speed, we just have to be calm and try again. Now it’s time to reset and give it our all at my home Grand Prix.”

The Moto3 Austrian Grand Prix provided an intense battle for victory, won out by Deniz Öncü at the Red Bull Ring by just thousandths of a second. Jose Antonio Rueda fought in the group and earned points after placing eleventh.

Öncü started the race from the first row and focused on keeping his podium chances alive. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider maintained a great pace along with the rest of the riders in the front group and was able to analyse the situation well, waiting for the right moment to attack. With an intelligent overtaking move in the final stretch, he earned his second win of the season by thousandths of a second, in the process giving a 100th victory for KTM in the smaller cylinder class. Thanks to these results, Öncü climbed positions in the overall standings and is third with 124 points.

Rueda faced Sunday in Austria with determination after starting from fifth position on the grid. The young Red Bull KTM Ajo rider lost a few positions off the line, but remained in the group and climbed up to eighth. Although pushing hard on every lap, he was not as comfortable as he had been on Saturday and the high temperatures made the race difficult for the series rookie. Rueda finally crossed the finish line in eleventh position, picking up points. He is eighth in the World Championship with 65 points and second in the fight for Rookie of the Year.

The next event for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will be the Catalan Grand Prix, from September 1st-3rd.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“I have to say that it was a beautiful end to the race by Deniz, with how smart and calm he was and the beautiful overtake on the last corner to get his second win. I’m so happy about this maturity and the mental growth that Deniz has undergone during this year. I remember when we talked with him before the season and told him that he has the speed and he just needed to find the way to manage the situations and control his emotions. This is happening now and I’m really happy to see it. Jose Antonio’s weekend was also positive, although in the race we hoped to get a little bit better of a result. In the Practices he showed that he has the speed to fight at the top. Unfortunately he made a small mistake at the beginning of the race and he dropped out of the first group. The second group was fighting intensely and this time we didn’t get a better final result. In any case, it was a positive weekend and it’s another lesson for us.”

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

“This victory is very important for me and it’s even more special to win here in Austria. It means that all the hard work we are doing is paying off. We still have more races to go, the season is long and it’s very important to not make mistakes and be consistent. I’m happy to put a smile on everybody’s faces because it was a hard weekend for me at this circuit. I tried to be clever and prepared every corner to get the best opportunity to pass. The team worked so hard and I’m so happy for them too.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“It was a bit of a strange day. We started well but I had a little scare on the first corner and I lost some positions. The group started to push very hard and I fell behind. That made me slow down a bit and I couldn’t catch up with those at the front. It wasn’t my best day but we will continue working so that the next GPs go much better. The good thing is that we know what we were missing and we will solve that for the next race.”

Results (Race)

1. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 34:04.29

2. Daniel Holgado (KTM) +0.005

3. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) +0.119

4. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) +0.136

5. Ivan Ortola (KTM) +3.135

11. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +8.667

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2023

1. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 161 points

2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 135 points

3. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 124 points

4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) 118 points

5. Jaume Masia (Honda) 109 points

8. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 65 points

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2023

1. Red Bull KTM Ajo 189 points

2. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP 182 points

3. Angeluss MTA Team 174 points

4. Red Bull KTM Tech3 163 points

5. Leopard Racing 150 points