Rueda finishes thrilling #IndonesianGP in 5th, Öncü 8th

The Moto3 Indonesian Grand Prix provided an intense and extreme race, in which the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 duo went from strength to strength from the get-go. Jose Antonio Rueda made a great fightback at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit and returned to the top 5 after beginning the contest in sixteenth position. Deniz Öncü also made up positions and fought in the front group, crossing the finish line in eighth.

Öncü started the Indonesian Grand Prix race from the second row of the grid, in fifth position. After slight contact with another rider, the Turkish rider fell to eighth, but he remained in the group and began to regain positions. Öncü tried to maintain the high pace set by the leading competitors, and in the final stretch managed to reach fourth position in a tight battle. He finally crossed the finish line in eighth place, and with 155 points he remains fifth in the overall standings.

Rueda achieved one of his best results this season, when forced to fight back from sixteenth position. On the initial laps the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider managed to climb up the order, remained in the group and after the first half of the race he reached the Top 10. The Spanish rider took another step up and fought intensely with his rivals until he took fifth at the chequered flag. The 11 points put him eighth in the series.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 team now travel to Phillip Island to compete in the Australian Grand Prix, from October 20th-22nd.

JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA

We were able to make a good start and gain positions. I’m very happy because it was one of the races in which we had the best start. The pace was very high and the group at the front was pushing very hard throughout the race. I lost touch a little, but on the last lap I was able to latch on again and fight. After the way this weekend went, I’m very satisfied with the result, I have learned a lot and now it’s time to think about the next race.

DENIZ ÖNCÜ

Today was a tough race for me. This is a circuit where we struggle a lot with acceleration. We did our best as a team and we had a really good speed during the whole weekend. We were able to catch the frontrunners again but I was blocked on the final laps. It was tough to make a pass, but on the last lap I lost some positions because of an incident in front of me. We are consistent, we have earned some points and we will learn from this race. Now it’s time to think about Australia.