Barry Baltus will contest the Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2019, as the young Belgian joins forces with the Ángel Nieto Team. The 14-year-old has signed for the Spanish team with the aim of developing as a rider and fighting at the front of a series that the Ángel Nieto Team already won this season with Raúl Fernández.
Barry Baltus joins the Ángel Nieto Team with some Moto3 Junior World Championship experience already under his belt. After stepping up from the European Talent Cup, where he took a victory early in the season, he spent the second half of 2018 riding a Moto3 bike and picked up a ninth place at Albacete as his best result.
Baltus will combine his activities in the FIM CEV with participation in the Rookies Cup, in which he will also ride a KTM. In 2018, the young Belgian finished eleventh in one of the categories that feeds into the Junior World Championship and the World Championship.
Barry Baltus: “I am very happy to continue in the Moto3 Junior World Championship next year. It is a very competitive championship and to be able to take part in it with a first-class structure such as the Angel Nieto Team is a wonderful opportunity. Raúl Fernández’s World Championship title proves that they are the most competitive team. In 2019, I want to fight for the top positions. I already have one year of experience with KTM and I feel like I’m ready to give the best of myself next season. I can’t wait to get back on track! I also want to thank my parents, Zelos and all the partners and fans who have supported me from the beginning and made it all possible.”
Jorge Martínez “Aspar”: “We want to welcome Barry Baltus to the Ángel Nieto Júnior Team, our development team that has given us so much success in recent seasons with Spanish titles and the Junior Moto3 World Championship in 2018 with Raúl Fernández. The bar has been set high and we are confident Barry can help us lift it. He is a young rider who still has a lot to learn, but he has already shown that he is fast and is capable of doing very well.”
Source: Ángel Nieto Team Press Release