As expected, Italian rider Niccolo Antonelli will join Bo Bendsneyder at the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad in the Moto3 World Championship next season. He will replace the Moto2-bound Brad Binder.
Antonelli graduated from the Red Bull Rookies Cup to the Moto3 World Championship in 2012 with the San Carlo Gresini team. The Italian, unfortunately, built up a reputation as something of a serial crasher, but his pace was clear to see. A move to Ongetta-Rivacold for 2015 saw Antonelli temper his riding and the results began to stack up.
He took his maiden Grand Prix victory in the Czech Republic, following that up with two third place finishes in Great Britain and San Marino before returning to the top of the box in Japan.
2016 has been a tricky year for the Ongetta rider. A win at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix was thought to have set the tone for a title challenge from the Italian, but bad luck curtailed his bid early on. Antonelli currently lies tenth in the standings on 79 points.
“I’m very happy to join Red Bull KTM Ajo because it is a dream come true,” he said. “This is a team that has produced several World Champions and that has always fought to be at the top, so I want to learn a lot here next year. The aim is to fight for victory at every race or at least be on the podium when that is not possible.
“I want to improve on what I’ve done in the last two years in the World Championship and will fight as much as I can to do this. It is exciting to ride a KTM again. I’m sure the bike is very different with that I rode in 2014 and I can’t wait to try it out.”
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