It was a stellar weekend for our lads in the lower classes, with Agius and Kelso bagging podiums, Roulstone scoring a top 10, and rising star Carter Thompson bringing home his first Red Bull Rookies win despite serving a long-lap penalty
Agius returned to the podium with a gritty performance at Jerez for the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact Moto2 team, catching and then passing Brazilian Diogo Moreira after a fierce battle that saw heavy contact between the two on the second-last lap. Agius jumps to 7th in the Moto2 standings with this result, equal on points with Deniz Öncü in 6th.
Senna Agius (Moto2, P3) – “I am very happy. It wasn’t an easy race because it was very long in terms of the tyres. I had a good start and was behind Manu, but I had problems in some key areas. When I got passed by two other riders, I thought I had lost because the race would be difficult for me with the front tyre. But I stayed calm and caught up with them again and attacked at the end with a nice battle. I’m proud of that because we managed to catch up and get ourselves back in the game. So that shows that we are strong. A big thank you to all the guys and girls at Intact GP, the team is working fantastically. But congratulations to the whole team for another double podium, which is very important. Not just for me, because we are back where I think we belong after a slightly more difficult time. We worked seamlessly this weekend. I really wanted my first win, but to be honest, the third place is great too. In the end, though, everyone was as happy as I was. So, a big thank you to them and also to the support from Australia, where my family watched the race.”
Kelso backed up his 2nd place at COTA and 4th at Qatar with yet another strong result, placing 3rd for the Level Up – MTA Moto3 squad after a mature ride where he steadily worked his way up the order after losing positions from 2nd on the grid on the first lap. The Queenslander sits 3rd in the overall Moto3 championship standings with 57 points, behind Piqueras on 87 and Rueda on 91. Not a huge margin, given anything can happen in this closely fought category.
Joel Kelso (Moto3, P3) – “It’s hard to accept 3rd, but at the end of the day, this is all I had today. Well, maybe 2nd was finally a fight on the last lap. But anyway, second time on the podium this year is not a bad record so far. If we can keep this going, it’s great. But we need to find a little bit extra to fight with Rueda. I stayed there, but the pace was incredible. I was staying on quite comfortably when I was doing 44.6s — you know, it’s OK, I can do this. And then I expected, because he had the softer compound tire, that maybe he would drop. But then at lap 10 he must have turned it on a little bit more. And somehow I did a 44.3 or 44.4, because I did that lap and said, “I cannot continue this.” You know, I hit it another time — the 44 low — and I just couldn’t hold it without risking too much for a crash. So anyway, that secured a podium, and I just had to accept today’s 2nd or 3rd. I knew there would be a battle on the last lap, and overall, I’m happy to be on the podium. I mean, who’s not happy to be here on the podium? But yeah, need to find a little bit extra. Super, super happy — and especially at a track that I’ve struggled with in the past. We did a really good job this weekend, working well to try to improve our riding style for this track, and it worked well because we’re here on the podium. Next time, we’ll try to make another step. The little part that Rueda had actually was just the faster corners. He had that little bit extra over me. And Piqueras is such a late braker, and the last lap was gonna be difficult, fighting until the last corner. But yeah, he won this one, and I’ll try to win the next one on him. We’ll try to be stronger in Le Mans. Honestly, it’s a track I like, so let’s just keep working the way we are, and I think we can be stronger in Le Mans.”
Roulstone’s top-ten finish for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 Moto3 team was a remarkable effort, given this was the venue where he suffered a potentially career-threatening spinal injury during pre-season testing. He also had to overcome a long-lap penalty on lap 3, fighting his way back up the order from 14th place. The strong result bodes well for the rest of the season for the young New South Welshman.
Jacob Roulstone (Moto3, P9) – “To finish P9 after a long lap penalty and a terrible first 2 laps, I’ll take the points. Suffered again with the start and the first laps just not clicking. But then closed a 3 second gap after completing the long lap. Quite pleased with how this weekend went. Feeling more and more back to where I was the end of last year and closer to where I know I belong. Now a weekend off and racing for the teams home GP in LeMans France in two weeks time.”
Rising star Carter Thompson’s first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup win was made even more impressive after serving a long-lap penalty for a high-speed clash with Veda Pratama, which caused the Indonesian to crash. Thompson rejoined the race in 9th with just three laps to go and launched a remarkable comeback, coming out on top after entering the final corner four-wide on the closing lap. Thompson now sits second in the Red Bull Rookies Cup standings on 38 points, just two behind series leader Hakim Danish.
Cart Thompson (Red Bull Rookies, P1) – “It was definitely a crazy race. A lot happened, the conditions were quite a lot different to the rest of the weekend, the track was so much cooler that there was more of a drop in rear tyre grip so I was really hunting for that at the end. It’s a boost to my confidence and now I know I can run at the front. It’s the first time in Rookies Cup I’ve really been fighting for the win, so now I know how it all works. It should definitely be a big help for the rest of the year.”
