O’Shea and Honda riders shine in Austrian Grand Prix
Red Bull Ring - SpielbergGRYD Racing’s Eddie O’Shea secured his best Moto3 career finish with fourth place, ending a wild race at the Red Bull Ring as the top Honda rider.
The 15th round of the Moto3 World Championship in Austria saw the Honda riders come to the fore, led to the line by Irishman Eddie O’Shea, who kept a cool head to battle his way up from 11th on the grid to fourth place. O’Shea led home Guido Pini of Leopard Racing, who delivered a standout ride to climb from 14th to fifth, and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Casey O’Gorman, who also showcased strong race craft to finish sixth after starting 13th.
The 20‑lap race got underway under perfect blue skies, with all Honda riders looking to make up ground from their qualifying positions. Unfortunately, Leopard Racing’s Adrian Fernandez had to serve a double long‑lap penalty in the early stages, hampering his progress after briefly running as the top Honda inside the top ten. The Spaniard would eventually retire from the race.
After lap eight, the Grand Prix came alive as all Honda riders moved up a position due to the race leader retiring. Veda Pratama of Honda Team Asia had battled his way to the front and was on course for a top‑five finish. The Indonesian rider went on to catch fourth place, followed closely by O’Shea, O’Gorman, Pini, and Joel Kelso of GRYD Racing, who had started the race as the highest‑placed Honda in seventh.
However, with four laps to go, Pratama was handed a long‑lap penalty for an incident and dropped out of the fight for fourth. Kelso fought hard throughout the race and was part of the multi‑rider battle for fourth but ultimately slipped just outside the top ten despite a solid ride.
At the chequered flag, O’Shea led home Pini and O’Gorman by less than three‑tenths of a second, with Kelso finishing 11th and Pratama battling his way into the points in 13th. Honda Team Asia’s Zen Mitani brought his machine home in 18th, with Leo Rammerstorfer of SIC58 Squadra Corse in 20th, and Rivacold Snipers Team riders Nicola Carraro and Jesús Rios in 21st and 22nd.
The 16th round of the Moto3 World Championship will see the ten Honda riders travel to the Far East for Honda’s home race at Motegi on 02–04 October.
“Honestly, this was kind of the last thing I expected coming here. We said it was going to be a bit of a bogey track because this is a stop‑and‑go kind of circuit, whereas the Honda prefers a circuit with more flow. But the team have done an amazing job to get the bike set up, and right now it’s stopping better than ever, so around here especially, we’ve managed to make it work. It’s been a crazy weekend — going from one of the biggest saves of my life in practice, going through Q1, and now P4 in the race. It’s been an amazing turnaround after a tricky weekend in San Marino.”
“Honestly, this was kind of the last thing I expected coming here. We said it was going to be a bit of a bogey track because this is a stop‑and‑go kind of circuit, whereas the Honda prefers a circuit with more flow. But the team have done an amazing job to get the bike set up, and right now it’s stopping better than ever, so around here especially, we’ve managed to make it work. It’s been a crazy weekend — going from one of the biggest saves of my life in practice, going through Q1, and now P4 in the race. It’s been an amazing turnaround after a tricky weekend in San Marino.”
