Thought you’d seen enough drama in one race? Well, more was about to unfold – and it was the biggest of them all. After being ran wide by Arbolino at Turn 2, Arenas crashed at Turn 3. The Championship leader’s race was over with just over two laps to go, with second and third in the standings – McPhee and Ogura – looking strong at the front. That was just after McPhee had a front-end moment at Turn 1 as his Honda hit one of the ripples, with Masia leading again.

And it was Masia who led onto the last lap, closely followed by McPhee, but Rodrigo was up to second at Turn 2. Suzuki then tried his luck around the outside of McPhee at Turn 4 and 5 – and it worked. Heading down the back straight though, it was elbows out – it couldn’t get much closer. There was contact between Masia and Rodrigo, with McPhee getting a clean run and taking the lead into Turn 8, with Ogura taking profit up the inside. Ogura, on the wide line, was then passed by Suzuki heading into the back straight as McPhee led the way.

The number 17 held his advantage down the back straight and then hugged the inside line to allow Ogura – who had passed Suzuki again – up the inside. Coming around the last sector, McPhee made no mistake and despite the best efforts of Ogura, McPhee crossed the line in P1 for the first time since Le Mans 2019. Ogura was just 0.037 off the win as the two title contenders took full advantage of Arenas’ misfortunes, Suzuki takes a SIC58 podium on the track named after the late, great SuperSic 58 – Marco Simoncelli. Ogura and Suzuki make it two Japanese riders on the lightweight podium together for the first time since Welkom 2001.

Rookie Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) earned his best result of the season with a fantastic P4 result at Misano, he got the better of teammate Rodrigo on the last lap as the Argentinian got shuffled back. Arbolino took a valuable top six on home soil behind Rodrigo, with Masia having to settle for P7 after getting a little bit beaten up on the last lap. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) picks up his best result of the season in P8, just ahead of Foggia and Migno who complete the top 10.

Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) crashed out together at Turn 8 in the lead group – riders ok.

The Moto3™ title race takes another titanic twist. Ogura is now just five points behind Arenas in the standings, with McPhee now only 14 adrift – exciting enough? You bet! The lightweight class riders return to Misano next weekend, can Arenas bounce back?

Top 10:
1. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing)
2. Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) + 0.037
3. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.232
4. Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) + 0.393
5. Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) + 0.490
6. Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) + 0.543
7. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) + 0.833
8. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 0.928
9. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 0.976
10. Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 1.121.

GRAN PREMIO LENOVO DI SAN MARINO E DELLA RIVIERA DI RIMINI

Moto3 Race Classification 2020.

Moto3 World Standing 2020