Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) took a stunning second win of the season at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas to take back the Championship lead, timing his tactics to perfection to pull the pin with five to go and hold off expected Championship rival and eventual second place finisher Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing). Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP), fresh off the top step of the rostrum at Termas di Rio Hondo), came out top in a classic last lap battle to complete the podium in third.
It was Martin who got the holeshot, heading into the lead from pole as teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio shot through from Row 2 to slot into second. There began an early freight train, with Martin, ‘Diggia’, Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46) the men leading the fight at the front.
Di Giannantonio, however, soon decided it was his turn to take over as he overtook his teammate, before Foggia flew through in a stunning double overtake past both Del Conca Gresini Moto3 riders. Then it was Marco Bezzecchi’s (Redox PruestelGP) turn to attack as he moved his way through the group and dueled Foggia to take over in the lead, with everything feisty and fiery in the early stages.
Meanwhile, Livio Loi (Reale Avintia Academy) had been making some serious progress through the pack, up from P26 on the grid to be heading the second group by half distance – along with Andrea Migno (Angel Nieto Team Moto3). As they caught the group ahead, it became an eight-rider battle for the lead and the race was once again impossible to call.
As the laps ticked down, however, Martin had his mind on tactics. With five to go the Spaniard struck and pulled the pin as he unleashed some serious pace – able to start making a gap as Bastianini got through to lead the chase. The ‘Beast’ pushed and pushed but Martin wasn’t for being caught, eventually crossing the line an impressive second and a half clear of Bastianini to take win number two of the year.
Bastianini was also in clear air as he’d escaped the pack, but it was a big battle behind to complete the podium. Bezzecchi was holding onto it until the final sector, where Di Giannantonio dived up the inside in a last corner last ditch lunge – and ran wide. But Bezzecchi didn’t, keeping it together and able to cross the line ahead for a back-to-back podium for the first time. Migno also able to take advantage of the Del Conca Gresini rider heading wide, taking fourth and just pipping ‘Diggia’ at the line.
Just behind that scrap, Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) took sixth after a frontrunning race, losing out on the final lap as he got caught up in a moment for Di Giannantonio, with Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) taking P7 on an impressive charge. Canet, who struggled in the latter stages, crossed the line in eighth and relinquished the points lead – with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Loi, from 26th on the grid, incredibly completing the top ten.
Moto3 World Standing 2018
Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jorge MARTIN | Honda | SPA | 55 |
2 | Aron CANET | Honda | SPA | 48 |
3 | Marco BEZZECCHI | KTM | ITA | 43 |
4 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Honda | ITA | 37 |
5 | Enea BASTIANINI | Honda | ITA | 33 |
6 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Honda | ITA | 25 |
7 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | ITA | 22 |
8 | Gabriel RODRIGO | KTM | ARG | 22 |
9 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | ITA | 21 |
10 | Jakub KORNFEIL | KTM | CZE | 18 |
11 | Adam NORRODIN | Honda | MAL | 16 |
12 | Ayumu SASAKI | Honda | JPN | 13 |
13 | Alonso LOPEZ | Honda | SPA | 10 |
14 | Philipp OETTL | KTM | GER | 10 |
15 | Kaito TOBA | Honda | JPN | 9 |
16 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | JPN | 7 |
17 | Livio LOI | KTM | BEL | 7 |
18 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | ITA | 6 |
19 | Marcos RAMIREZ | KTM | SPA | 5 |
20 | Jaume MASIA | KTM | SPA | 4 |
21 | Kazuki MASAKI | KTM | JPN | 3 |
22 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | RSA | 3 |
23 | John MCPHEE | KTM | GBR | 2 |
24 | Albert ARENAS | KTM | SPA | 1 |
25 | Dennis FOGGIA | KTM | ITA | |
26 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | Honda | THA | |
27 | Makar YURCHENKO | KTM | KAZ | |
28 | Nicolo BULEGA | ITA |
RED BULL GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS
Moto3 Race Classification 2018.
Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | 88 | Jorge MARTIN | SPA | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 143.3 | 39’12.869 |
2 | 20 | 33 | Enea BASTIANINI | ITA | Leopard Racing | Honda | 143.3 | +1.451 |
3 | 16 | 12 | Marco BEZZECCHI | ITA | Redox PruestelGP | KTM | 143.1 | +4.112 |
4 | 13 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | ITA | Angel Nieto Team Moto3 | KTM | 143.1 | +4.172 |
5 | 11 | 21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | ITA | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 143.1 | +4.186 |
6 | 10 | 65 | Philipp OETTL | GER | Sudmetal Schedl GP Racing | KTM | 143.1 | +4.374 |
7 | 9 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Redox PruestelGP | KTM | 143.0 | +5.452 |
8 | 8 | 44 | Aron CANET | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Honda | 142.9 | +7.971 |
9 | 7 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | JPN | SIC58 Squadra Corse | Honda | 142.8 | +8.287 |
10 | 6 | 11 | Livio LOI | BEL | Reale Avintia Academy | KTM | 142.8 | +8.711 |
11 | 5 | 71 | Ayumu SASAKI | JPN | Petronas Sprinta Racing | Honda | 142.7 | +10.909 |
12 | 4 | 19 | Gabriel RODRIGO | ARG | RBA BOE Skull Rider | KTM | 142.5 | +13.745 |
13 | 3 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | RSA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 142.5 | +14.532 |
14 | 2 | 17 | John MCPHEE | GBR | CIP – Green Power | KTM | 142.4 | +16.071 |
15 | 1 | 75 | Albert ARENAS | SPA | Angel Nieto Team Moto3 | KTM | 142.4 | +16.181 |
16 | 10 | Dennis FOGGIA | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 142.1 | +19.895 | |
17 | 72 | Alonso LOPEZ | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Honda | 141.9 | +23.516 | |
18 | 48 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | ITA | Leopard Racing | Honda | 141.9 | +23.757 | |
19 | 76 | Makar YURCHENKO | KAZ | CIP – Green Power | KTM | 141.8 | +25.424 | |
20 | 14 | Tony ARBOLINO | ITA | Marinelli Snipers Team | Honda | 141.8 | +25.439 | |
21 | 5 | Jaume MASIA | SPA | Bester Capital Dubai | KTM | 141.3 | +33.897 | |
22 | 22 | Kazuki MASAKI | JPN | RBA BOE Skull Rider | KTM | 141.0 | +38.352 | |
23 | 41 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | THA | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 141.0 | +38.362 | |
24 | 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse | Honda | 139.8 | +59.078 | |
Not Classified | ||||||||
42 | Marcos RAMIREZ | SPA | Bester Capital Dubai | KTM | 125.4 | 5 Laps | ||
8 | Nicolo BULEGA | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 141.1 | 12 Laps | ||
7 | Adam NORRODIN | MAL | Petronas Sprinta Racing | Honda | 110.9 | 15 Laps | ||
27 | Kaito TOBA | JPN | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 89.2 | 16 Laps |
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com