The Italian rider finishes third in the British GP, while Marcel Schrötter places 17th.

There was a great end to the British GP for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Celestino Vietti secured his first podium with the team after a hard-fought comeback up the field, earning third place. Substitute rider Marcel Schrötter also had a standout performance, taking the chequered flag 17th.

Vietti took off from the second row of the grid, and got as high as second position early on. However, he lost positions and dropped to sixth place. He looked for a good pace and tried to recover, continuing with the good feeling he had in the last race before the summer break. He was very consistent and continued to push late on, clinching third place on an exciting final lap to claim his first podium with Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Schrötter started the British GP from 26th position and stayed there on an intense first few laps, until he found a comfortable pace. The German rider progressively climbed the order in search of points, riding very consistently lap after lap and with a pace similar to the frontrunners. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider crossed the finish line in 17th, with the points just eluding him.

The next event will be the Austrian Grand Prix, from August 15-18th at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“It was, once again, a very positive weekend in Moto2. Race by race we are understanding more about the package and our riders are more and more confident. Especially with Celestino, I feel that he is more and more confident and I’m really happy that his practice -and especially the qualifying times- are stronger. This is the key to getting good results in Moto2. We need to analyse the beginning of the race, as we weren’t as strong as expected. He dropped some positions and then, at the end of the race, Celestino was the fastest man on the track. He had some incredible last laps. We are really happy about the podium. Marcel again did a solid job as the replacement rider for Deniz. He was again quite close to the points, so we want to thank him for his work. It is not easy to come into this class in the middle of the season.”

#32 MARCEL SCHRÖTTER

“Unfortunately we missed out on the points, but we were not so far away. Throughout the weekend I had been trying to get in tune with the bike. Qualifying was hard so we started from the back of the grid, and the opening laps of the race were quite hectic, plus someone had a big crash and we lost contact with the middle pack. After that, I had a quite good pace, similar to that of the Top 10 riders, so that’s something very positive. We take away the positives and we keep learning. Thank you to all of the team for helping me and for choosing me again, and I wish a speedy recovery to Deniz.”

#13 CELESTINO VIETTI

“During the weekend we had been fast and competitive, so we had a good setup for the race. At the beginning I was too cautious with the rear tyre, after the problems at the German GP. Although I am not very happy with the first part of the race, we managed things well and at the end we had a bit more tyres than the others, so that helped us to overtake. I am really happy with the feeling we had with the bike and with the performance in general. It’s a very good result and we go to Austria with a great feeling.”

Jose Antonio Rueda retires when fighting for victory, while Xabi Zurutuza places sixteenth.

The German Grand Prix did not end as hoped for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo. Jose Antonio Rueda battled for the win in a outstanding performance but a crash with two laps remaining ended his chances of returning to the podium. Xabi Zurutuza climbed up the order to place just outside the points after being sixteenth.

Rueda started the Moto3 race from the second row of the grid. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider maintained a spot in the front group and, after four laps, moved into third position. Amidst constant changes of positions and an intense fight for the Top 3, he dropped down to sixth and then rose to second, keeping the race leader in his sights and fighting for his first victory in the category. With only two laps remaining, a mechanical issue denied him the chance of his first win in the class.

Zurutuza faced a difficult race at the Sachsenring. The Moto3 rookie, who started from seventeenth place, lost some positions off the line, although he was able to recover and in the first laps he made up positions. Zurutuza tried to recover as many positions as possible before the long lap penalty received on Saturday. After completing them, Zurutuza tried to recover once again and once more made up positions, keeping a solid pace race. In the end, the young Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was just outside the points, finishing sixteenth.

Red Bull KTM Ajo will return to action in three weeks, for the BritishGP at Silverstone.

Aki Ajo – Team Manager

“Rueda has improved more and more with his riding style in practice and in the race. He was one of the best riders this weekend and also in the previous races. Unfortunately he crashed on the last few laps due to a technical issue, but we are glad to see that he is ok. We can be confident and we know that we can fight for the podium -and even the victory- in the next few races. Xabi faced a new track and Sachsenring is a special one. His race was solid despite the two long laps, as many other riders received the same penalty. He was able to reduce the gap and he was close to the points, so we will keep this progress up for the races after the summer break.”

#99 JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

“In today’s race we made a very good start and we managed to be at the front from the beginning, fighting for the Top 3. I am very happy overall, since I think I could have won or at least been on the podium. With two laps to go I had technical problems with the bike and I couldn’t finish the race. I feel good, but we leave here with a bittersweet taste because it was very bad luck. That’s racing.”

#85 XABI ZURUTUZA

“It has been a Grand Prix full of ups and downs, where we have learned from the mistakes made and for which I have been penalised. These mistakes hurt me in the race, so I have to learn from them to be able to achieve better results. In the race we tried to push as hard as possible in a group of 5/6 riders. We have tried to find our rhythm. It is not the position we would have liked, but we have to keep learning and little by little we will improve.”