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Danny Kent To Test KTM Moto3 Bike, Wildcard At Le Mans

By David Emmett | Thu, 04/05/2017 - 17:52

Danny Kent is to test KTM's Moto3 bike at Jerez on Tuesday, and is to race as a wildcard at Le Mans. Aki Ajo, team manager of the Red Bull KTM team, who knows the 23-year-old Englishman well from his previous stints in the Ajo team, has seized the opportunity to use Kent's experience in Moto3 to help develop the bike, which is struggling against the Honda at the moment.

This has thrown Kent a temporary lifeline, after he decided to leave the Kiefer Moto2 team before the race in Austin. That decision came as a shock to the team, though Kent had struggled through the first two races of the season. 

At the moment, the plan is only for Kent to do a test and then the race at Le Mans. Kent will be hoping that if he can score a good result, then he may get a second chance in Moto3. A team as well funded as Ajo's may be able to find the resources to put on more wildcard rides for Kent, or if he is capable of running with the front runners at Le Mans, convince other Moto3 team managers to take a gamble on him.

The test will also provide useful data for KTM and for Ajo. So far, the KTMs have struggled in Moto3, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Niccolo Antonelli and Bo Bendsneyder have not performed as expected. If Kent also has problems with the bike, and his feedback matches Antonelli and Bendsneyder, that would point to a problem with the KTM. But if Kent is much quicker than the current riders, that would indicate the problem lies with the riders.

Below is the press release from the Red Bull KTM Ajo team:


Kent to test KTM Moto3 bike

British rider will participate in a day of testing next Tuesday at Jerez with Red Bull KTM Ajo, and enter the French GP as a wildcard.

05/04/2017 - Jerez Circuit, Spain

Danny Kent will take part in a day of testing with the KTM Moto3 bike next Tuesday at Jerez, following the Spanish Grand Prix which takes place at the track this weekend. He will be testing alongside the rest of the Red Bull KTM Ajo team.

The Briton has four years of experience in the lower cylinder class, and rode for Red Bull KTM Ajo in 2012 and Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo in 2014. He has been chosen by the Austrian factory to evaluate and give his point of view on the KTM RC250 GP used in the World Championship. Kent will complete his collaboration with Red Bull KTM Ajo by entering the French Grand Prix as a wildcard, alongside the team’s regular riders Niccolo Antonelli and Bo Bendsneyder.

Aki Ajo - Team Manager

"After learning of Danny Kent’s situation in the World Championship, the team, Red Bull and KTM had the joint idea of asking him to test and develop our bike. Danny is a rider who has already been part of our team in the past; we know well how he works and he knows us, and we believe that with his experience he can give us a very interesting point of view for the technical development of our bike. In addition, what every rider needs is to compete, so we have offered him the possibility of a wildcard ride at Le Mans with us. I am convinced that the outcome of this collaboration will be very satisfactory for both parties."

Moto3
Jerez, Spain
Le Mans, France
KTM
Danny Kent
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Comments

He is going to do a good job

fpan51
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

The guy is good in small bikes.
He is going to be at the front, I am sure.

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No one likes to see good racers disappear

richtea
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

That's good news. No one likes to see good racers disappear.

Which reminds me - Arthur Sissis had a cracking Superstock 600 race in the UK in Monday. 10 seconds ahead of everyone, if I remember rightly. The Eurosport commentators ( who normally know their man) didn't recognise him, which was a little disconcerting, but the Twitterati set them right halfway through the race.

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dad?

LAH
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

Man, that aki is is a great guy.
Do you suppose mr.ajo would adopt a 52 yr.guy old from the u.s ?

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Interesting!

Powervalve58
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

Maybe Kent can become a true lightweight class specialist like we used to have in the old days. That would be cool. That he hasn't succeeded in Moto2 does not have to be a problem, but his second half of the season in his championship-winning year is more of a worry, like you wrote in the earlier article.

Concerning the current two Ajo Moto3 riders, I'd say it is way too early to write them off, especially Bendsneyder. He only has one year under his belt and is still very young. Also his speed was only really bad in Argentina, after what was apparently a big moment on a 600 at Assen between Qatar and Argentina (if I have understood correctly); in Qatar he was hit by Loi and in Austin he had a rare crash - which was his mistake, but he does not crash very often. Brad Binder also took a few years to become as strong as he was last year, did he not?

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Bendsneyder

Sjeivehoof
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

Well.... it was fun while it lasted.. 

If Kent is able to impress Aki Ajo, wich he probably will, without any real pressure and a factory KTM Moto3 at his disposal.

Then I guess Bo Bendsneyder is gonna need to find a new seat for next year. 

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Hopefully not making an incorrect assumption

patnicholls
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

Maybe he just can't build up the physical strength to have stamina on a bigger bike? It would explain a lot. Should go well back on Moto3 hopefully, particularly with Ajo and should help Nico and Bo out too.

Personally (as someone weighing 66kg) I'm amazed Dani Pedrosa can even pick a MotoGP bike up, let alone win 29 races on one.

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In reply to Hopefully not making an incorrect assumption by patnicholls

Update

patnicholls
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

Update: win 30 races on one...

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Perhaps DK sees this as a

Max Power
5 years 9 months ago
Permalink

Perhaps DK sees this as a possible way into the KTM Moto2 fold next year?

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