Rising star Scott Ogden shines in FIM Junior World Championship

The 17-year-old took third place at the Circuit de Barcelona to continue his impressive form on the world stage.

Ogden is in sixth place in the standings ahead of next month’s fourth round at the Circuit of the Algarve.

Only two British riders had ever finished on the rostrum in a championship race since the Junior World Championship began 13 years ago. Current Moto3 Grand Prix racer John McPhee took three third places in 2011/12 and Derbyshire rider Kyle Ryde took third place in Barcelona in 2013.

Ogden has scored championship points in every race this season since joining the Aspar Junior team run by former world champion Jorge Martinez.

He arrived in Barcelona ready to show that he can be a frontrunner in this incredibly competitive class, qualifying in 12th to take a position on row four of the starting grid.

Ogden battled his way to take fifth place - his best ever international result - but this would be eclipsed by his performance in race two.

From 12th place he became involved in a massive battle at the front of the field and with six laps to go he found himself in 13th place.

But then he tore through the frontrunners, taking eighth place on lap 13, sixth on lap 14, fifth on the penultimate lap and finally crossed the line in third, finishing just one fifth of a second behind winner and teammate Daniel Holgado and closing the gap as the flag dropped.

Ogden won the British Talent Cup in 2018 and is a former British Minibike champion. He is in his second full season in the Moto3 Junior World Championship after finishing 15th last year, which included top 10 finishes in Portimao, Jerez and Valencia.

Upon joining reigning champions Aspar, Ogden said: “I want to thank all the people who have supported me in achieving this opportunity with Aspar Team Junior. It is a great team, which has won all the junior categories in which it competed and has also won the Moto3 World Championship. It is incredible, a dream come true.

"My main objective this year will be to fight for the top six constantly. It's my second season and I want to make a strong impression.”