The 11^th round in the 2024 Moto2 World Championship takes the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team to the spectacular Styria region of Austria for what should be another Spielberg thriller this weekend.

• Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac are looking to bounce back from a tricky Sunday at Silverstone last time out as they tackle the hard braking zones and hard acceleration points that dominate the undulating 4.34km Spielberg track.
• The action commences at 950am local time on Friday with the opening Free Practice session, with Arbolino and Salac set to race over 23 laps at 1215pm on Sunday afternoon.

/// TONY ARBOLINO

•  An extremely positive and productive one-day test session at MotorLand Aragon last week restored confidence for Arbolino after the Italian suffered a rare DNF in the British Grand Prix.
• Arbolino, who turned 24 during the Silverstone race weekend, took the chequered flag in a strong sixth place in Austria one year ago, which is his best result in four previous Moto2 appearances.
•  Arbolino is no stranger to the Spielberg podium though and he was second in the 2019 Moto3 battle and runner-up in the Styrian round in 2020 when the Austrian track hosted two rounds during the pandemic impacted campaign.

“I have a lot of confidence and motivation coming to Austria”

“I think we have seen recently that our level is improving, and we are taking steps in the right direction to be fully competitive once again. Silverstone didn’t end the way we wanted but we were able to quickly put that behind us with a very good test at Aragon and that gives me a lot of confidence and motivation coming to Austria. Spielberg is a very particular track with a lot of hard braking and a lot of undulation, but we are ready for the challenge and ready for a good weekend.”

/// FILIP SALAC

•  Salac arrives in Austria more determined than ever to turn around his fortunes and despite a recent difficult period the Czech rider is ready to reward the support of the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team with a big performance.
• Salac scored one of his 10 top 10 finishes in the 2023 Moto2 campaign at Spielberg last season when he finished just one place behind current teammate Arbolino in seventh after fighting his way through from 12^th.
• Seventh last season is Salac’s best result in Spielberg, but he has scored points in four of his last five visits and he’s looking to build confidence with another strong challenge this weekend.

“I believe we can have a strong weekend”

“I’m really looking forward to racing in Austria this weekend. It is close to my home and one of my favourite tracks that suits my riding style. There is a lot of hard braking at Spielberg, and I feel this is one of my strong points. We need to understand how this weekend will go from a physical standpoint because I still have some pain in my knee after the crash testing in Aragon last week. I’m sure it is not going to be an issue, and I need this weekend to try and build back some feeling and confidence. I believe we can have a strong weekend and end with a strong result.”