Pedro Acosta finishes in second place to become Moto2 World Champion, while Albert Arenas comes ninth.

The Malaysian Grand Prix had a great ending for Red Bull KTM Ajo. After finishing in second position, Pedro Acosta was crowned World Champion with two races remaining. Albert Arenas was very consistent throughout the race and placed an excellent ninth.

Acosta faced a crucial Sunday, with the opportunity to become Moto2 World Champion. He came through to clinch the title, having started from the second row of the grid and quickly moving up into second position. In a race in which pace and tyre management were crucial, he kept a cool head and secured the position. After 17 laps, Acosta took the chequered flag in second place, for his fourteenth podium of the season and becoming the 2023 World Champion with 320.5 points.  

Arenas has completed a solid Malaysian Grand Prix. Although his qualifying result was not what he had hoped for, he was able to make a great start and climb positions. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider maintained a consistent pace to enter the Top 10 and, despite the difficult track conditions, completed an outstanding race, crossing the finish line in ninth position. With 79 points, he is fifteenth in the overall standings.

Red Bull KTM Ajo will return to work this coming week with the Qatar Grand Prix, which takes place from November 17-19th.  

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

It has been an amazing three years working with him; a guy who surprises us every day with his maturity and cleverness. The most enjoyable thing is not only winning the two titles together but maybe more the feeling of what we’ve created together with Pedro, his family and the whole team. I also really want to thank the guys for all their effort and support all the way through 2023. Albert had a positive weekend despite the fact his qualifying position wasn’t the best. In any case, he has improved a lot during the whole season and he was competitive during the race until he finished ninth. Let’s keep working and keep improving in the next races.

#37 PEDRO ACOSTA

It’s amazing. A second title in three years is incredible. Thanks to Aki, to KTM and to the team. We suffered a lot to understand how to go fast with this bike, because I was so small and so light, so at the beginning last year we struggled and I had a lot of crashes. This year we put all the mistakes I made right. The team have done an amazing job, I grew up with them during these years together. Today I was talking with Albert, my manager, and we remembered when I was riding the Rookies Cup and I got my first contract in the World Championship. If you aim for the moon, if you fail you are going to land on the stars. I don’t want to cry today because there are still two races to go with the team; in Valencia I will cry because I don’t want to leave.

#75 ALBERT ARENAS

First of all, congratulations to the team and to Pedro for the title. In the race I started to make up positions and make my way into the Top 10. I gave my all and I was on the limit, trying to stay on the bike whilst pushing to the brink. This was the most I could bring home, so I’m satisfied about having given 100%. In Qatar we will try to improve much more and keep pushing.  

Deniz Öncü finishes in twelfth position, whilst Jose Antonio Rueda suffers a crash on the final laps.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders had an unfortunate Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit. After fighting in the front group until the closing laps, Jose Antonio Rueda had a crash that took him out of contention. Deniz Öncü was also involved in the incident, and after rejoining the race he finished in twelfth position.

Öncü began the Malaysian Grand Prix race from ninth and, after a great start, climbed up to the Top 5. He maintained a good pace from the start and was able to reach the podium positions, although there were numerous overtaking moves to contend with. The Turkish rider tried to stay on the rostrum and even fight for victory, but he was knocked down with three laps remaining. Remounting, he crossed the finish line in twelfth position but, after the penalties received by other riders, he finally finished eleventh. With 196 points, he is fifth in the overall standings. 

Rueda had achieved one of his best qualifying results to date, and he started the race in sixth position. The Moto3 rookie took a big step forward over the weekend and improved significantly, despite it being a new and very demanding circuit for him. The Spaniard was able to stay in the front group and fight with the leaders for the best possible position. With 3 laps remaining and amidst constant changes of positions, Rueda made a mistake that caused him to crash – taking out his teammate in the process – and he was unable to rejoin the race. He is tenth in the Moto3 standings with 111 points.

The next round of the Moto3 World Championship will be the Qatar Grand Prix, from November 17-19th.  

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

Of course we are disappointed about how the Moto3 race ended. Both of our riders were fighting in the leading group and they made progress during the weekend. Unfortunately, Rueda had a small mistake when braking and he crashed, hitting Deniz in the incident. In any case we have to be positive, because both Öncü and Rueda were competitive and Rueda also took a good step forward and improved his results. Now we have to focus on Qatar and the final races of the season.

#53 DENIZ ÖNCÜ

I was having a good weekend, I was fighting for the victory and I was managing the race during the last laps. My teammate made a mistake and crashed, taking me out as well. Mistakes can happen and I did the same things in the past. He’s learning. Hopefully, this will not happen again, but we’ll keep our heads up because next weekend we go to Qatar and we are ready to fight for the win again.

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

First of all I want to apologise to my teammate Deniz, I made a mistake and we both crashed. I also want to apologise to the team because we both deserved to be at the top and on the podium and I ruined his race too. Apart from this I am happy with the progress we made over the weekend; we have done a lot and we have taken a big step forward both with the bike and with my riding. I felt good and we were able to be in the front group. In the end, these things happen, we will learn from this for the future and not make these mistakes again.

Results (Race)

1. Collin Veijer (Husqvarna) 33:30.072
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) +0.066
3. Jaume Masia (Honda) +0.328
4. Ivan Ortola (KTM) +6.830
5. David Muñoz (KTM) +6.878
12. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) +14.095
DNF. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo)  

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2023

1. Jaume Masia (Honda) 246 points
2. Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna) 233 points
3. David Alonso (GasGas) 205 points
4. Daniel Holgado (KTM) 205 points
5. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 196 points
15. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 111 points  

Moto3 Teams World Championship Standing 2023

1. Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intanct GP 363 points
2. Leopard Racing 319 points
3. Red Bull KTM Ajo 307 points
4. Gaviota GasGas Aspar Team 283 points
5. Angeluss MTA Team 271 points