Team heads to Sachsenring after another strong back-to-back
The iconic TT Circuit Assen brought the fourth back-to-back of the season to a close, following another encouraging pair of race weekends for the team in Brno and Assen.
After showing strong pace from the opening session of the Czech Grand Prix, both Joel Kelso and Eddie O’Shea arrived in the Netherlands determined to build on the team’s recent progress and extend its run of competitive performances.
The last two rounds were held in extremely demanding conditions, with exceptionally high temperatures and humidity affecting both Brno and Assen. Despite the challenging weather, both riders secured direct passage to Q2 on Friday at both Grands Prix. However, O’Shea was later disqualified from Friday’s classification in Brno due to a weight calculation error, forcing him to fight his way through Q1.
The setback did little to halt the British rider’s momentum. The #8 delivered his strongest qualifying performance to date, securing a place on the second row of the grid. Team-mate Kelso, who had consistently featured inside the top ten throughout the weekend, lined up on the third row.
Both riders spent the race battling in the second group, remaining firmly in contention throughout. Kelso crossed the line in eighth place after a hard-fought race, finishing second in his group behind Marco Morelli’s KTM. O’Shea was less fortunate. Having matched his team-mate’s pace and battled in the same group for much of the race, his challenge came to an unfortunate end with a crash on the final lap—a result that failed to reflect the significant progress he had shown throughout the weekend.
The team’s positive momentum continued at Assen, where both riders finished Friday’s Practice inside the top three. Kelso topped a session for the first time this season, while O’Shea claimed third place—his best Friday Practice result since joining the Moto3 World Championship.
Saturday morning’s Free Practice 2 provided the opportunity to fine-tune the bikes ahead of Q2. Despite the unexpectedly oppressive heat at Assen, both riders headed into qualifying with a clear objective: a place on the front row.
Kelso came agonisingly close to claiming pole position before Máximo Quiles snatched the top spot with his final flying lap. Nevertheless, second place on the grid marked another excellent result for the Australian and secured the team’s third front-row start of the season.
O’Shea, meanwhile, was unable to convert his strong pace into a representative qualifying lap and lined up 15th on the grid.
Sunday’s race at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ was heavily influenced by penalties. Overnight rain had left the Long Lap section unsuitable for use, meaning any Long Lap penalty would instead be converted into a three-second time penalty.
Kelso fell victim to that ruling after cutting the chicane and failing to lose the required amount of time before rejoining the circuit. Although he spent the entire race battling in the second group and crossed the finish line in sixth place, the post-race three-second penalty dropped him to eighth in the final classification.
O’Shea endured a more challenging race and was unable to bridge the gap to the group in which his team-mate was fighting. Nevertheless, the Brit salvaged a valuable World Championship point by taking 15th place at the chequered flag.
“It was a really positive weekend. Unfortunately, today’s race just slipped away from us. We received a three-second penalty for cutting the chicane, which dropped us from P6 to P8. But that’s racing. Overall, it was a really positive weekend. It’s great to be back as one of the strongest riders on the grid. We’ll keep working hard, and I’m sure we’ll be able to show even more potential at the next race in Germany.”
“After a solid Friday in the heat, we expected more from this weekend, but as the weekend progressed, we started to struggle more and more. We tried to fix the problem we had, but we couldn’t find the solution. Looking forward to Sachsenring.”
Attention now turns to Sachsenring, where the team will face Round 11 of the 2026 Moto3 World Championship. The German Grand Prix marks the final Grand Prix before the summer break, with the team aiming to carry its encouraging form into the first half of the season’s closing chapter.