-CFMOTO enter the second Grand Prix of 2023 to take place on Spanish soil and for the first Grand Prix of the second half of the current season. The Catalan stop is the first of back-to-back races with San Marino up next.

-Xavi Artigas aimed to please fans and friends at his home Grand Prix and rushes his CFMOTO machine to 13th.

-Joel Kelso, unlucky again, challenges for the top twenty around the 14-corner and 4.6km layout north of Barcelona after starting from the front row of the grid for the fourth time in 2023.

-The flat kinks and curves of the Misano World Circuit-Marco Simoncelli will host round twelve next weekend and is the last European Grand Prix on the slate until the championship closer in November

Only two other circuits on the current MotoGP calendar have been used for more years in a row than Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. For the 32nd consecutive season the world championship threaded to the site in northern Spain and for the slick trajectory - predominantly right-handed - that is popular with race fans and the bike-mad Catalan region of the country.

CFMOTO PruestelGP were determined to reverse the fortunes of the previous round in Austria where the ‘stop-start’ nature of the Red Bull Ring proved to be challenging for the crew and riders Joel Kelso and Xavi Artigas. The weather conditions around Barcelona were tricky to judge. The Catalan Grand Prix is traditionally held in June but for 2023 was shuffled back to the first weekend of September and a stormy climate meant decent temperatures but also wind and the constant threat of showers.

On Saturday both riders found lap-times to haunt the top fourteen and through Q1, Kelso made the cut. Artigas was less fortunate and had to start the Grand Prix from 24th on the grid. Kelso meanwhile had a wholehearted attempt at Q2 and brilliantly used the tow of the group to seal the 3rd fastest lap and earn a spot on the front row for the fourth occasion this season

As usual, Moto3 opened race day and 18 laps under grey but warm skies. Kelso, with a best result of 9th this term, was running high and with a great chance of bettering the classification but was nudged wide on the final corner and had to fight hard to regain positions from the back of the large lead group. Artigas, gunning for points for the first time in three Grands Prix, was also in the mix during the first half of the distance.

With four laps to go the pack finally split, and both CFMOTO riders had to slug-it-out for the last world championship point. Artigas strived to the limit of the throttle cable and made it to 13th – less than seven seconds from the winner - while Kelso was frustrated in 18th.

CFMOTO PruestelGP are now 9th in the Teams Championship. Artigas is 10th and Kelso is 21st in the Riders contest. The Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini will take MotoGP to the east coast of Italy and to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli next week.

Xavier Artigas: “Not the result we wanted at my home Grand Prix but I’m still quite happy with how things went; it was a shame the way the group broke but, being realistic, we made a forward step because I felt good and comfortable on the bike. In Misano I hope we can be fighting further forward and with the confidence we need.”

Joel Kelso: “I need to improve. I lost eight positions by being hit out on the last corner but struggled to recover from that. I need to figure out how to race better at this level and the results will instantly change. People can see that I have the pace and the speed and I just need to make that breakthrough. Yes, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time but I had only seven laps to show what I can do. I should have stayed right at the front. I want to thank the people that believe in me because our time will come.”

Moto3 2023 Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya

1. David Alonso (COL) GASGAS 33:00.945

2. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda +0.076

3. Jose Rueda (ESP) KTM +0.234

13. Xavier Artigas (ESP), CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP +6.458

18. Joel Kelso (AUS), CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP +7.098

Moto3 2023 world championship standings after 11 of 20 rounds

1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM, 161 points

2. Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Husqvarna, 148 

3. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda, 129

10. Xavier Artigas (ESP) CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP, 60 

21. Joel Kelso (AUS), CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP, 19