Circuit of the Americas, USA, APril 18th 2023 - In both Moto2 and Moto3, the Elf riders shone at the Circuit of the Americas, with Tony Arbolino and Dani Holgado able to maintain their leads.
With Pol Espargaro still recovering from injuries sustained at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Jonas Folger was called up by Tech 3 to replace him. The German test rider did his best for his return to racing, managing to score four points by finishing twelfth in the Grand Prix of the Americas after a twentieth place in the sprint race. Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez scored his first top ten finish in MotoGP. “A good result given the very difficult conditions this weekend," commented the MotoGP rookie. “There were a lot of crashes and managing the front tyre was not easy, but I improved every day. This gives me confidence going into the next race at Jerez.”
Tony Arbolino's third consecutive podium finish at the Circuit of the Americas confirmed his status as the Moto2 World Championship leader. Only eighth on the grid, the Elf Marc VDS rider pulled back five positions on the first lap of the race. He then battled with Pedro Acosta until the last corner. “I felt really good on the bike," said the Italian, second at the chequered flag. “Today I had something more than the others. But I need to improve my grid position to be able to fight for the win more easily." Sam Lowes struggled at the American track and had to settle for thirteenth place at the finish of the third race of the season.
After two eighth places in Portugal and Argentina, Xavier Artigas took his first podium of the season in Texas. A result that allows the CFMoto rider to move up to third place overall. Dani Holgado was not able to stay in the winning group until the end due to forearm pain. The Tech 3 rider nevertheless finished fifth, keeping him in first place overall. David Almensa, who was once again replacing Joel Kelso, still recovering from his ankle injury, finished seventeenth, just ahead of Dani Holgado's teammate Filippo Farioli. No points for the two young rookies but valuable experience gained before the return of the world championship to Europe.
| CATEGORY | RIDER | RACE | CHAMPIONSHIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOTOGP |
Pol Espargaro |
DNS |
|
|
Augusto Fernandez |
16th and 10th |
15th(14 points) |
|
| Jonas Folger | 20th and 12th | 21st (4 points) | |
| MOTO2 |
Sam Lowes |
13th |
11th (18 points) |
|
Tony Arbolino |
2nd |
1st (61 points) |
|
| MOTO3 |
Dani Holgado |
5th |
1st (49 points) |
|
Filippo Farioli |
18th |
28th (0 point) |
|
|
Xavier Artigas |
3rd |
3rd (32 points) |
|
|
Joel Kelso |
DNS |
18th (7 points) |
|
|
David Almensa |
17th |
26th (0 point) |
