Double retirement: Strong performance by the Intact riders ended in the gravel trap

David Almansa started the Moto3 race at Spielberg from second on the grid. Coming out of Turn 1, he managed to overtake pole-sitter Brian Uriarte (KTM Ajo) on the outside and take the lead. However, as he had exceeded the track limits during the manoeuvre, he was forced to drop back one place. Shortly afterwards, he retook the lead – the Intact rider was setting the pace at the front. He set the fastest lap of the race, whilst behind him, World Championship leader Maximo Quiles had worked his way up from fourth on the grid to second place. Disaster struck for Almansa on lap 7: his front wheel slipped out in the chicane, bringing his race to an end.

“To be honest, I don’t yet know exactly what happened in the crash, because we’ve seen in the data that I was playing around with the throttle a bit. But why the front wheel gave way at that exact spot is a bit strange,” mused Almansa. “But we’ll learn from this. I apologise to the team, because I made a big mistake with that crash. But we’ll bounce back in Japan and carry on exactly as we have been. I don’t feel any pressure after what happened on Sunday, as Maximo Quiles has too big a points lead. We know what we’re capable of, and we’ll carry on working in the same way to fight for second place in the championship right until the end.”

Following his victory at Silverstone and second-place finishes at both Aragon and Misano, Almansa suffered a setback at Spielberg. In the World Championship standings, he is in third place, 132 points behind the leader. Alvaro Carpe (KTM Ajo) is just one point ahead of him.

David Munoz: Strong comeback went unrewarded

Team-mate David Munoz made his comeback at the Red Bull Ring. The Spaniard had suffered a serious pelvic injury in a crash during the Moto3 race in Hungary. He had already shown impressive pace in Friday’s practice sessions, and in Saturday’s qualifying he secured 9th on the grid for his KTM. In the race, he put in a strong performance – despite being in pain – and briefly fought his way up to 4th place. He was then caught by the chasing pack. With five laps to go, Muñoz crashed in Turn 4 when Pratama tried to squeeze past on the inside. Muñoz escaped uninjured, whilst Pratama received a long-lap penalty for the manoeuvre.

“The race was going well; I had good speed and felt comfortable. But unfortunately, another rider forced me off the track in a corner, so I had to straighten the bike out and rode straight into the gravel trap, where I eventually crashed,” said David Munoz, describing the incident with Pratama. “Fortunately, I’m okay and didn’t hurt myself. Still, it’s a shame to end the race like that. However, between now and the next race, I need to work even harder on my physical condition to be in better shape. Many thanks to the team for their work and support this weekend.”

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David Munoz (64) war mittendrin im Kampf um einen Top-5-Platz

Foto: Gold & Goose

Peter Öttl: Confidence for the Asia and Australia tour

Both Intact riders put in a strong performance at Spielberg. This made the double retirement all the more bitter. Team manager Peter Öttl summed up the race weekend at Spielberg: “As so often this year, David Almansa dominated both practice sessions on Friday and secured a perfect starting position for the race with second place in qualifying. In the race, he managed to build up a lead at the front, but unfortunately crashed at the start of the second third of the race, which dashed our high hopes of a victory at my home race. Nevertheless, we’re looking ahead, as his consistently strong form speaks for itself.”

“On the other hand, we were delighted that David Muñoz returned to the team after his long injury lay-off. He immediately surprised us with his high pace, even though he was only able to complete a few laps in each practice session,” Öttl continued. “Ninth on the grid was a good starting point for him. In the race, he fought incredibly hard, just as we’ve come to expect from him. But the longer the race went on, the more his physical condition began to take its toll. Nevertheless, he fought for a possible place in the top six. Unfortunately, he crashed following a slight collision with another rider. We’re very glad he escaped unharmed. It’s great to see that we can count on both Davids again and that they’re competitive. That gives us hope for the upcoming races overseas. Many thanks to the whole team for their brilliant work here in Spielberg.”