Öncü and Rueda battle to 6th and 9th in #FrenchGP

The Moto3 race of the French Grand Prix took place on Sunday at Le Mans and the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders fought intensely from start to finish. Deniz Öncü was in the podium positions for most of the race, finally finishing sixth. Jose Antonio Rueda crossed the line in ninth place, again finishing in the Top 10.

Öncü started from the second row of the grid, which allowed him to quickly move into the Top 3. The Turkish rider remained there for a large part of the contest and with a consistent pace, trying to prevent his rivals from increasing their gap. With 4 laps to go, he dropped down to fifth position. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider eventually took the chequered flag in sixth, earning him points and putting him tenth in the overall standings with 33 points.

Rueda lost several places after starting from the fourth row of the grid, although he quickly started to move up the order and set his sights on the front group. After the midway point of the race, the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was tussling for eighth place after the leading group broke away. Rueda looked for solidity and a comfortable feeling and earned another Top 10 finish, placing ninth. Rueda also occupies ninth in the standings, with 37 points.

The next race will be held in three weeks’ time, as the Italian Grand Prix takes place from June 8-11th at Mugello.

DENIZ ÖNCÜ

I tried to remain fast at all times, but this circuit is hard because of my fitness and riding style. I was struggling a lot on the straight but I tried my best and I accept how the weekend went. We were fighting for the top positions but in the end I had less speed and I finished sixth. I will try to improve the results in the next race at Mugello.

JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

I made a very good start and I was able to get to the front. Afterwards I clipped another rider, went a little wide and lost some positions. I started to push but the group in front had already gotten away a bit, although halfway through the race I almost caught up with them. We worked very well during the weekend, the setup of the bike was good, but something was missing. I’m happy because we had a good race and we have taken more points.