Aragon GP - Race Report
The Moto3 World Championship team battled through a challenging weekend in Aragon to bring both riders home in the points, with Joel Kelso crossing the line in 13th and Eddie O’Shea finishing 14th after serving a Long Lap Penalty
The team headed to MotorLand Aragon in Spain to kick off the second half of the season. On Friday, Kelso secured direct entry to Q2 after Practice, while O’Shea had to go through Q1 on Saturday. The #8 narrowly missed out on a place in Q2 and had to settle for 19th on the grid for Sunday’s race, while the #66 set the 15th fastest time in qualifying.
Starting from the fifth row, Joel Kelso made a strong getaway, losing just one position and running in 16th during the opening laps. However, a crash involving the rider ahead of him, Cormac Buchanan, prevented Kelso from staying with the group ahead. He continued to run in 15th, despite setting lap times comparable to those at the front, and eventually crossed the finish line in 13th.
Eddie O’Shea started further back on the grid, from the seventh row, and had to serve a Long Lap Penalty on lap three after being penalised on Friday during Practice for slow riding. The British rider made a strong start, moving up to 17th, and lost just one position while taking the Long Lap, allowing him to remain with his group and begin making progress through the field.
O’Shea spent much of the race battling alongside Honda Team Asia’s Veda Pratama and Level Up - MTA’s Joel Esteban. On lap ten, he moved to the front of the group and remained there until the chequered flag, eventually finishing 14th, just behind his team-mate Joel Kelso, who had been riding alone and crossed the line six seconds ahead.
“It’s been a difficult day today. We got caught up in an incident on lap two, which took us out of contention for a fight for the top six. But I regrouped and was doing lap times comparable to the top six.
We just need to keep working and bounce back in Misano with a strong result. I just can’t thank the team enough for all their hard work. Our time will come soon. ”
“After a challenging start to the weekend and having to serve the Long Lap in the race to score points, I think bringing home points is good enough in itself.
The pace wasn’t there for me this weekend to qualify further up the grid, but overall, I’m happy to take points away from this weekend, and I’m looking forward to Misano. ”
The team leaves Aragon with five more points in the championship standings, with three points for Kelso and two for O’Shea. This takes the team’s total to 105 points, keeping them eighth in the overall Team’s Championship standings and as the second-highest placed Honda team.
The next challenge awaits at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, where the Red Bull Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera will take place.