The Colombian rider from the CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team has returned to the podium at the Red Bull Ring after fighting his way up to third place
The CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team faced a major challenge in Sunday’s race: David Alonso and Dani Holgado had to fight their way up from the second and fourth rows of the grid to challenge for the podium. The Colombian set a blistering pace throughout the 23 laps and managed to make up positions to finish third in Austria. With this latest podium, he now has four this season and continues to close the gap in the overall standings, where he is now fourth, 13.5 points behind the top three. Izan Guevara’s victory at the Red Bull Ring keeps him in contention in the battle for the Moto2 title, after championship leader Manu González finished fourth. Alongside Guevara and Alonso, the podium in the intermediate class was completed by the Czech rider Filip Salac, who finished second.
David Alonso once again made a strong start, which allowed him to close in on the leading riders in the opening laps. A minor mistake forced him to drop back, but the CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team rider managed every moment of the race with precision to regain his rhythm and return to the top of the standings. His chance came in the final third of the race, when he broke into the top three. From then on, it was crucial not to make any mistakes in order to secure his fourth podium of the season and continue to consolidate all the progress made in recent races before travelling to Asia. Dani Holgado also made up places at the Red Bull Ring. The Spaniard, who started a little further back in tenth place, had to give his all to recapture the form he’d shown at the start of the weekend. The CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team rider put in a consistent performance and overtook several of his rivals; although he didn’t quite make it into the top five, he crossed the finish line in seventh place, a result that keeps him sixth in the overall standings.
3rd David Alonso (+2.945): “I did some really good things today: I got off to a good start and settled into a good position. I need to improve a bit in the opening laps because, when all the riders are bunched up, I find it hard to get my bearings when braking. I went wide at turn six and lost a few places; I’ll work on that for the next rounds. On the second or third lap I nearly went down, just like last year. Luckily, I managed to stay on the bike. After that, the race went very well, with a great pace. The standard in Moto2 this year is incredibly high; nobody makes any mistakes. Today was a day when you had to manage and calculate things very carefully, but it felt too short for me. It was mentally challenging to know how to stay on the limit. These races allow us to learn a lot and continue to build a solid foundation.”
7th Dani Holgado (+13.673): “We’ve finished the weekend in Austria in seventh place. I’m not very happy with the result, but I am pleased that I gave it my all. In the final part of the race, I lacked a bit of pace and didn’t quite feel comfortable. I started the weekend well and yesterday things got a bit messy, although today I managed to turn the situation round a bit. I’m not 100 per cent satisfied. I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work; I’ll keep working to find something and be more competitive in the next race.”
