In typical Moto3 fashion, it was virtually impossible to keep up with which rider was in which position throughout the race. But one thing that was absolutely certain was that neither Joan Mir or Romano Fenati were going to give up the win without a fight.
The race was dry and the sun was out – a rare sight this weekend. And under the sun was where Joan Mir took the hole shot, leading into the first corner. Pole sitter Aron Canet dropped back to 5th by turn 1, but bailed out of the race at turn 12 with 12 laps to go.
Back at the front Mir and Fenati were looking racy, swapping between 1st and 2nd constantly. The leading group was quickly reduced to just 5 riders – Mir, Fenati, Ramirez, Arbolino and Bulega, a rarity in Moto3. The group was further reduced as the race went on. With Tony Arbolino on for his best finish of the season, he crashed out from 4th at turn 2 opening the gap between Ramirez in 3rd and Bulega in 5th.
It wasn’t a lucky weekend for the Brits in Moto3. Wild card Danny Kent was shunted to the back of the grid thanks to his 12 place grid penalty, but crashed out at turn 3 with 12 laps to go. And John McPhee was looking to continue his podium streak after a third place finish in Assen. Unfortunately for the Scot, he went down at turn 13 with 21 laps to go.
Fenati led into the last lap, but Mir took the lead into the final sector allowing him to snatch the win from Fenati in the closing moments. Marcos Ramirez rode incredibly and rounds out the podium in 3rd, making it his first podium of the season.
Joan Mir still leads the championship going into the summer break with 165 points. Romano Fenati sits in 2nd with 128 points, with Aron Canet 18 points behind in 3rd.
- Joan Mir, Leopard Racing – 39:44.575
- Romano Fenati, Marinelli Rivacold Snipers + 0.121
- Marcos Ramirez, Platinum Bay Real Estate + 0.218
- Nicolo Bulega, Sky Racing Team VR46 + 5.074
- Philipp Oettl, Südmetall Schedl GP Racing + 13.073
- Enea Bastianini, Estrella Galicia 0,0 + 13.650
- Livio Loi, Leopard Racing +14.318
- Bo Bendsneyder, Red Bull KTM Ajo + 14.466
- Tatsuki Suzuki, SIC58 Squadra Corse + 14.583
- Darryn Binder, Platinum Bay Real Estate + 14.666
