CFMOTO, successful at USA MotoGP Grand Prix as Artigas makes the podium

Round three of 2023 MotoGP offered action galore as the world championship rounded one of the longest and toughest tracks on the calendar, COTA.

CFMOTO managed to compete at high stakes at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and raced to their second-ever podium finish thanks to Xavi Artigas’ 3rd position!

- CFMOTO competes in MotoGP World Championship’s most frenzied class – Moto3 – as Xavi Artigas races to 3rd; just half a second from victory
- Rookie David Almansa obtains 17th position in his second substitute appearance for the CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP team, as Joel Kelso is still recovering from his ankle injury
- CFMOTO presents the audience with a large model range, including the new 450 SR sportbike, with a big presence at the Circuit of the Americas
- MotoGP comes back to Europe for round four in two weeks’ time at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto in Spain

After Portugal and Argentina, MotoGP continued its global hop in the USA with a stop at the second-longest track on the calendar. The Circuit of the Americas – ‘COTA’ – offered once again its traditionally complex and technical test.

COTA was created just over ten years ago and 2023 was the 10th visit by MotoGP. CFMOTO appeared at the American Grand Prix for the second time. 

The Spaniard Xavi Artigas fought with other six riders all the way to the flag. After Ayumu Sasaki crashed three laps from the finish, the battle was reduced to a quintet. Artigas continued to push and took a podium slot by just 0.009 of a second. The whole group was divided by over half a second. Xavi’s achievement was the third Moto3 trophy of his career, his first for CFMOTO, and the second for the team since the beginning of 2022.

17 points marks the gap between Artigas in 3rd position and Daniel Holgado at the top of the standings. CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP are 5th in the Teams rankings, while CFMOTO is currently the 3rd best brand in the Moto3 division.

MotoGP with the Gran Premio MotoGP Guru by Gryfyn de España is set to take place from April 28-30.

Xavier Artigas: “I feel really good! It’s great to be back on the podium and this is one of my favourite tracks. The race went very well. I stayed in the group and felt great on the bike. I have to say thanks to the team, the bike was really fast and they worked and supported me all the way. We’ll see what more we can do in the next races.”

David Almansa: “The race went quite well but I had a lot of problems with the tires and didn’t feel so good. I was struggling but adapted to the situation and tried to recover positions. I learnt a lot. I want to say a big thanks to the team and everyone around me for the opportunity to be here in Moto3 and to race here.”

Moto3 2023 Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas

1. Ivan Ortola (ESP) KTM 32:01.062
2. Jaume Masia (ESP) Honda +0.457
3. Xavier Artigas (ESP), CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP +0.558
4. Diogo Moreira (BRA) KTM +0.567
5. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM +0.657
17. David Almansa (ESP), CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP +24.204

Moto3 2023 world championship standings after 3 of 21 rounds

1. Daniel Holgado (ESP) KTM, 49 points
2. Diogo Moreira (BRA) KTM, 49
3. Xavier Artigas (ESP) CFMOTO, 32
18. Joel Kelso (AUS), CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP, 7