Rueda finishes #JapaneseGP in 10th place, Öncü DNF

There was a bittersweet ending for Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team at the Japanese Grand Prix. Deniz Öncü crashed out when in the podium positions and after leading for much of the race, whilst Jose Antonio Rueda climbed positions to finish tenth.

Deniz Öncü started the Moto3 race from the front row of the grid. The Turkish rider made a great start that allowed him to take the lead. He tried to increase the advantage over his rivals, although the pace of the contest was very high. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider dropped to third position and remained in the podium spots, fighting hard with his rivals to secure the place. However, a crash with 6 laps remaining deprived Öncü of the rostrum. With 147 points, he remains fifth in the overall standings.

Jose Antonio Rueda was forced to make up ground after starting from the fifth row. The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider lost some places off the line, but was to increase the pace and feel comfortable while moving up through the main group. After the first half of the race, he was in the points, going on to cross the finish line in tenth position. He is now eighth in the standings with 100 points.

The next round for the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team will be the Indonesian Grand Prix, held from October 13-15th at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit.

JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

The race has been very fast from the beginning. I didn’t feel very comfortable, but I’m happy because we finished in the top 10 again at a circuit we didn’t know. From the beginning the others started pushing very hard and I couldn’t latch onto the front group. I don’t think it was a bad result, as we have continued adding points and at the next race we want to continue in the same way. Many thanks to the team for all their work during these two races.

DENIZ ÖNCÜ

The Japanese GP is done. We handled the weekend well and we knew that the race would be so hard. In the end I was able to lead the race for most of the laps. When the other riders started to fight I pushed more and I crash unexpectedly. I didn’t have time to react in the moment. I tried to brake more on the corners because of my lack of acceleration, due to my size. Both the team and I will come back stronger at the next race.