Aragon, Spain, September 19th - With both Deniz Öncü and Adrian Fernandez in the top five, the KTM Tech 3 Team put in their best ever overall performance in Moto3 at the Alcaniz circuit.
Held up at the beginning of the race by the collision between Marquez and Quartararo, and then by Nakagami’s crash, after he tangled with the six-time MotoGP world champion, Remy Gardner lost precious seconds before finding his rhythm. In spite of a fourth sector, which caused him problems all the weekend, the Australian was holding fifteenth place as the final finish line approached. Unfortunately, Pol Espargaro passed him on the last lap, depriving him of the point he was looking for. Raul Fernandez was also forced to go straight on due to the incident at the start of the race and finished his Grand Prix at the back of the pack without managing to get back into the points. “The race was complicated for our two riders because of the first lap collision," commented Hervé Poncharal. “It's a shame because both of them had the potential to finish in the points this weekend."
Following on from his seventh place at Misano, Tony Arbolino confirmed his return to form in Aragon. Confident on his bike and aggressive from the start, the Elf Marc VDS rider fought his way into the lead group after losing contact with them when Alonso Lopez crashed out in front of him early in the race. “I'm really happy with my weekend," exclaimed the Italian, after crossing the line in fifth place. “We worked very well with the team and I got a good feeling on the bike which allowed me to attack from start to finish. I felt strong in the braking phases, which has not been the case for a while. I'm now looking forward to the Asian Grand Prix tour." Despite two long lap penalties, young Senna Agius also had a solid race. At one point up to fourteenth place, he had to settle for sixteenth place at the finish.
Thirteenth on the grid due to a technical problem that disrupted his qualifying, Deniz Öncü was unable to make the break with the leading trio. The KTM Tech 3 rider nevertheless managed to move up through the pack to fourth place. “I had the same pace as the leaders but I couldn't catch them up because I started too far back," commented Deniz. “Still, it's another fourth place and valuable points for the championship." By finishing fifth, Adrian Fernandez enabled Hervé Poncharal's team to achieve their best overall result of the season. It was also the best performance to date by the young Spanish rider. “Finishing fifth from 15th is great," he said. “I felt really good on the bike and I was able to make some good overtaking manoeuvres. I'm happy for the whole team."
| CATEGORY | RIDER | RACE | CHAMPIONSHIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOTOGP |
Remy Gardner |
16th |
23rd (9 points) |
|
Raul Fernandez |
20th |
24th (8 points) |
|
| MOTO2 |
Senna Agius |
16th |
|
|
Tony Arbolino |
5th |
5th (128 points) |
|
| MOTO3 |
Deniz Öncü |
4th |
6th (153 points) |
|
Adrian Fernandez |
5th |
19th (40 points) |
