Moto3™: Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) takes huge Motegi victory.

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) took a huge step towards the Moto3™ World Championship title after claiming a stunning victory at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan. The Italian came from P6 on the grid to claim his second win of the season as main title rival Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) crashed out, with Albert Arenas (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) and Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) completing the podium.

Home hero Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) got the holeshot from P3 on the grid to lead Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) into Turn 1 and the Japanese rider was untroubled at the front for the opening exchanges. Both Dalla Porta and Canet got average starts from 6th and 8th on the grid, but the duo slowly made their way towards the front and on Lap 9, Dalla Porta was leading. Your top five at this point included Dalla Porta, Suzuki, rookie Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Arenas and Canet.

However, Canet seemed to be struggling slightly to keep up with the pace. A couple of mistakes saw him drop to sixth as the top four then created a half-second gap to Vietti, Canet and John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing). Trying to make up time, with Dalla Porta controlling the race from the front, Canet was pushing. But, with seven laps to go, that pushing became too much for Canet’s front tyre. At Turn 9, the Spaniard crashed out – colossal for the 2019 Moto3™ Championship as Canet pulled into the pits, with third in the title race Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) also crashing out midway through the race. The Italian was stretched off at Turn 5 after making a fantastic recovery from P27 on the grid, cruel luck for Arbolino.

Dalla Porta immediately got the signal from his team: “44 OUT”. Would that see Dalla Porta back off? No chance. The Italian was in the zone and looked incredibly comfortable at the front. Second place Suzuki showed his wheel on a number of occasions but Dalla Porta bit straight back. On the last lap, Dalla Porta led from Suzuki and Arenas, with Garcia and Vietti also well in the hunt for the podium. Arenas made his move on Suzuki at Turn 7, a nice move from the Thai GP winner, who then had his sights set on Dalla Porta. The Leopard man wasn’t showing signs of pressure though and down the back straight, it was his to lose. Dalla Porta ran slightly wide at the tight Turn 11 trying to defend any late lunges but it didn’t matter, he rounded victory corner to fend off Arenas, extending his Championship lead to 47 over Canet.

A few metres behind, it was late heartbreak for home hero Suzuki. Running first or second for pretty much the entire race, Vietti made a classy sweeping move up the inside at Turn 13 to snatch the final podium spot behind Arenas. No dream Japanese GP podium for the SIC58 rider, but it was once again another great ride from Suzuki. Vietti’s podium was his third of the season, with Garcia grabbing his best result of the season with a magnificent P5. McPhee had a lonely final few laps in P6, the Scotsman having a decent ride after starting from P11 in Japan. Jaume Masia (Mugen Race) threatened the top five scrap before a mistake at the final corner with nine to go ended his hopes of a podium, the Spaniard finishing P7. Leopard Racing’s Marcos Ramirez by a tenth, with front row starter Lopez slipping down the order to eventually take P9. Andrea Migno (Mugen Race) closed out the lightweight class top 10.

A dramatic first lap saw Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrüstelGP) and Kömmerling Gresini Moto3™’s Gabriel Rodrigo crash at Turn 4, thankfully both riders were ok, with Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) crashing down the straight shortly after – rider ok.

A huge day in the Moto3™ Championship scrap sees Dalla Porta take a commanding points lead into Australia. 75 points remain on the table with 47 now Dalla Porta’s advantage, but it’s not over yet. The Team Championship is over though, Dalla Porta and Ramirez’ top 10s mean Leopard Racing are 2019 Champions. The rider’s title rumbles on to Phillip Island, a track that is sure to throw up yet more surprises in a week’s time!

Top 10:
1. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing)
2. Albert Arenas (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team) + 0.094
3. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 0.198
4. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Sqaudra Corse) + 0.289
5. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 0.437
6. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 3.648
7. Jaume Masia (Mugen Race) + 7.225
8. Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) + 7.382
9. Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) + 8.172
10. Andrea Migno (Mugen Race) + 12.054.

MOTUL GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time/Gap
1 25 48 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA ITA Leopard Racing Honda 145.5 39’34.866
2 20 75 Albert ARENAS SPA Gaviota Angel Nieto Team KTM 145.5 +0.094
3 16 13 Celestino VIETTI ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 KTM 145.5 +0.198
4 13 24 Tatsuki SUZUKI JPN SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda 145.5 +0.289
5 11 11 Sergio GARCIA SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda 145.5 +0.437
6 10 17 John MCPHEE GBR Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda 145.3 +3.648
7 9 5 Jaume MASIA SPA Mugen Race KTM 145.1 +7.225
8 8 42 Marcos RAMIREZ SPA Leopard Racing Honda 145.1 +7.382
9 7 21 Alonso LOPEZ SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda 145.0 +8.172
10 6 16 Andrea MIGNO ITA Mugen Race KTM 144.8 +12.054
11 5 76 Makar YURCHENKO KAZ BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race KTM 144.8 +12.296
12 4 23 Niccolò ANTONELLI ITA SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda 144.7 +13.295
13 3 71 Ayumu SASAKI JPN Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda 144.7 +13.308
14 2 79 Ai OGURA JPN Honda Team Asia Honda 144.7 +13.333
15 1 6 Ryusei YAMANAKA JPN Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda 144.7 +13.362
16 82 Stefano NEPA ITA Reale Avintia Arizona 77 KTM 144.7 +13.380
17 27 Kaito TOBA JPN Honda Team Asia Honda 144.7 +13.487
18 61 Can ONCU TUR Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 144.7 +13.940
19 25 Raul FERNANDEZ SPA Gaviota Angel Nieto Team KTM 144.6 +14.648
20 22 Kazuki MASAKI JPN BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race KTM 144.1 +22.886
21 54 Riccardo ROSSI ITA Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 Honda 144.1 +22.907
22 12 Filip SALAC CZE Redox PruestelGP KTM 144.1 +23.416
23 7 Dennis FOGGIA ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 KTM 143.5 +32.728
24 69 Tom BOOTH-AMOS GBR CIP Green Power KTM 111.2 4 Laps
Not Classified
55 Romano FENATI ITA VNE Snipers Honda 144.5 5 Laps
44 Aron CANET SPA Sterilgarda Max Racing Team KTM 144.0 6 Laps
14 Tony ARBOLINO ITA VNE Snipers Honda 144.8 11 Laps
40 Darryn BINDER RSA CIP Green Power KTM 137.9 13 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
84 Jakub KORNFEIL CZE Redox PruestelGP KTM 0 Lap
19 Gabriel RODRIGO ARG Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 Honda 0 Lap
Moto3 Race Classification 2019.

Moto3 World Standing 2019.

Pos. Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Honda ITA 229
2 Aron CANET KTM SPA 182
3 Tony ARBOLINO Honda ITA 161
4 Marcos RAMIREZ Honda SPA 144
5 John MCPHEE Honda GBR 136
6 Niccolò ANTONELLI Honda ITA 122
7 Celestino VIETTI KTM ITA 116
8 Jaume MASIA KTM SPA 105
9 Tatsuki SUZUKI Honda JPN 98
10 Dennis FOGGIA KTM ITA 92
11 Albert ARENAS KTM SPA 88
12 Ai OGURA Honda JPN 88
13 Jakub KORNFEIL KTM CZE 76
14 Alonso LOPEZ Honda SPA 68
15 Romano FENATI Honda ITA 67
16 Gabriel RODRIGO Honda ARG 67
17 Kaito TOBA Honda JPN 60
18 Andrea MIGNO KTM ITA 58
19 Raul FERNANDEZ KTM SPA 58
20 Ayumu SASAKI Honda JPN 53
21 Darryn BINDER KTM RSA 44
22 Sergio GARCIA Honda SPA 31
23 Makar YURCHENKO KTM KAZ 22
24 Filip SALAC KTM CZE 18
25 Kazuki MASAKI KTM JPN 14
26 Stefano NEPA KTM ITA 13
27 Ryusei YAMANAKA Honda JPN 8
28 Carlos TATAY KTM SPA 8
29 Riccardo ROSSI Honda ITA 5
30 Can ONCU KTM TUR 4
31 Tom BOOTH-AMOS KTM GBR 2
32 Jeremy ALCOBA Honda SPA 2
33 Elia BARTOLINI KTM RSM 1
34 Deniz ONCU KTM TUR
35 Davide PIZZOLI KTM ITA
36 Gerry SALIM Honda INA
37 Vicente PEREZ KTM SPA
38 Kevin ZANNONI Honda ITA
39 Gerard RIU MALE KTM SPA
40 Aleix VIU KTM SPA
41 Maximilian KOFLER KTM AUT
42 Julian Jose GARCIA Honda SPA
43 Ryan VAN DE LAGEMAAT KTM NED
44 Meikon KAWAKAMI KTM BRA
45 Dirk GEIGER KTM GER
46 Brandon PAASCH KTM USA

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com