OUTSTANDING HOLGADO FINISHES 2ND OF AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, ROULSTONE IN THE POINTS ON HOME TURF

The sun was finally back for good in Phillip Island on Sunday just in time for the races! Perfect conditions awaited the Moto3™ class, as local boy Jacob Roulstone raced for the first time at home in Grand Prix, in front of family, friends, and Aussie fans. Starting from 13th on the grid, the Australian finished in the points in P13 after a solid race, while teammate Daniel Holgado showcased once again great talent, as he fought his way to the podium in P2 from P14 on the grid.

The start was not ideal for Daniel Holgado starting from mid-grid, and the usual Moto3™ chaos of the opening lap saw him move down to P20 after the first corners, but he exited lap 1 in 19th. Once that chaos was past, the Spaniard focused on his remontada, confident in his early race pace, and we saw him progressively make up for the lost positions. After two laps, he was already back in the top 15, and the next lap he clocked in his fastest lap to move up to 12th behind teammate Jacob Roulstone, 0.638 seconds from the Australian. Dani’s pace was strong at that time, faster than the leading group led by David Munoz. On lap 5, he had completely caught up with his teammate and overtook the #12 in the final sector to take P11 and join the leading pack, as thirteen riders remained close to each other after 5 full laps. Only in Moto3™ can we see that madness! Not stopping there, the Spaniard then went past Jose Antonio Rueda, Colin Veijer, Angel Piqueras and Tatsuki Suzuki in no time, and after 7 laps he was up to P4 after a great move on the inside on Ivan Ortola. Great progression from the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 rider! Ortola was fast to reply though, leaving Dani to settle in 5th for a while with still twelve laps remaining. Ten laps to go. P3 for Dani behind David Alonso and Ortola, but the battle for 5th was intense as positions constantly changed. A crash between Veijer and Ortola made some space at the front to allow Dani to breathe more, while trying to stick with Alonso. As 5 laps remained, the show was only going to get better. Dani was in P4 close with Alonso, Munoz, and Adrian Fernandez. Who was going to win that one between the four? Watch out for the others behind though, led by Stefano Nepa not far behind. A mistake from Nepa who had overtaken Holgado gave back the #96 his provisional podium, but the battle for the podium got more and more intense as two laps remained, while Alonso had made the gap, flying to another victory. Holgado entered the final lap behind Fernandez and Munoz, in P4, trying to prepare a final move. Staying close to those two in the final corners, the Spaniard took the perfect slipstream to finish P2 on the line, by a tiny margin of just 0.003 seconds! Outstanding performance from the Spaniard, who strengthened his second position in the championship with a 23 point-gap on Veijer.

All excited for his home GP with a special guest on the grid nearby him holding his umbrella, Jacob Roulstone finally had a taste of what it feels like to be racing in a Grand Prix in front of a home crowd. Starting from P13, the Australian took a great start as he progressed by two positions to exit the first lap in 11th behind Angel Piqueras. With a solid pace, the Australian held on to his ground in his early laps to stick with the leading group. Soon, his teammate Daniel Holgado moved past him, but Jacob continued to fight and hold his good rhythm. As thirteen laps remained, he was in P10 in the back wheel of Taiyo Furusato. Positions moved a lot, but the rookie showed a really good pace and defended his ground very well. He was still in 10th with five laps remaining, 0.1 seconds behind Rueda. He dropped to P12 with just three laps to go as all riders prepared their final strategy, and we saw him take the checkered flag of his home GP in P13 to take three points!

Great performance overall from the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 squad at the always-tricky Phillip Island. The team will now enjoy a day off on the island before flying to Buriram for the Grand Prix of Thailand.

Position: 2^nd

Championship: 2^nd

Points: 232

"It was a very good race for us. We had a typical Moto3 start with many riders, so the first lap was difficult and I lost some positions, but I was confident with my pace and progressively made it back to the front group. I am very happy with how we managed our final lap, the strategy was the right one. Thank you to the team for their hard work to give me a great bike. We have three races left, all very important for the championship, as our target is to finish P2, and today’s podium gives up confidence heading to the next round in Thailand next week!”

Position: 13^th

Championship: 15^th

Points: 53

"It was very special to race for the first time at home! I loved all of it, and it was nice seeing some flags with my logo around the track! I felt very good today in the race, although we struggled a bit at the start to pass some riders, but then we settled with the leading group, and we managed to stay with them, which I am happy with. We finally scored some points after some difficult rounds. Well done to my grand-mother for holding the umbrella for me, it was very special to have her near me on the grid for my first home GP."

Team Principal

"The Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team did a great performance although the weekend had not been easy with the rain and the tricky track conditions. Somehow, both riders managed to turn things around today, as both Daniel Holgado and Jacob Roulstone did a great race in Australia. Dani again showcased incredible talent and level. He took a decent start but made a small mistake that pushed him quite far back, but then he rode at a crazy pace to come back from P20 to the leading group in a few laps, and just like that he was in the podium contention. He prepared very well the final laps, and he perfectly managed to benefit from the slipstreams to finish in P2 just behind the 2024 World Champion David Alonso, and retain his second position in the world championship with now 23 points on the third, Veijer. Congratulations Dani on a very strong result! A big applause on the other side of the garage for local boy Jacob Roulstone. The last rounds have not been easy for him, but he turned things around after a bad Friday. He qualified in P13 coming from Q1, and he fought all race with the leading group, kept his pace and did not let go, to finally score points with a 13th position at home, which is a great reward for both Jacob and his team. He is finally where he should be, so let’s keep on that path!"

GALLERY

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