Moto3™ – John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) victorious in Misano thriller.

50336926451_d26882e39b_o.small

tcif_mgp_07_rsm_m3_race.mxf.11_38_41_16.imagen-fija001_0.gallery_full_top_fullscreen.small

e-8196_1.small

2020_rsm_07_mo3_ogura_suzuki.small

e-8081_0.small

In the 150th Moto3™ Grand Prix, John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) produced the ride of his life to emerge victorious from another magnificent and dramatic Moto3™ barnstormer. Polesitter Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) picked up another podium finish in P2 at the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, with 2019 race winner Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) crossing the line in P3. On the penultimate lap, Championship leader Albert Arenas (Pull&Bear Aspar Team Moto3) crashed out of the leading group, seeing his advantage slashed.

Ogura got the launch he would have been looking for from pole position but Suzuki clean and aggressive from the start, taking the lead at Turn 2 after starting third. There was big drama from the off in the Moto3™ race moments later as three riders hit the deck at Turn 4. Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0) tucked the front and took out Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Styrian GP winner Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) unable to avoid crashing as three leading contenders were out on Lap 1. Fernandez headed to the medical centre for a check-up.

Back at the front, Suzuki was holding firm at the front but Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) was making moves in the early stages. The Argentinian took the lead into Turn 13 on Suzuki with Ogura following through, but Suzuki bit straight back on the polesitter. On Lap 4, 1.8 seconds covered the top 14 as a lightweight class freight train formed at Misano, with Rodrigo at the front.

Having started P19, CIP Green Power’s Darryn Binder was producing the goods on race day again. The South African was up the inside of Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46) at Turn 4 on Lap 5, and Binder was soon fourth later round the lap. But this was a proper gaggle, there wasn’t a breakaway happening – Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) set the fastest lap of the race down in P21 with three seconds covering the leading 21 riders. On Lap 8, Binder took the lead but Rodrigo bit straight back at Turn 10, with the positions changing constantly at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Binder was again getting busy and there was slight contact at Turn 2 with the KTM rider and Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team). Binder was on the outside and Arbolino tried to make a move up the inside, but Binder closed the door. It wasn’t much contact, but enough to see Arbolino lose a couple of places. Binder then led but Rodrigo, looking mighty in Misano, didn’t let the South African have the baton for long, with the two Leopard Racing machines on Dennis Foggia and Jaume Masia getting the better of Suzuki who felt the wrath of Binder at Turn 5.

After starting from a season’s worst qualifying in P13, Arenas was now rising to the fore. The Championship leader was up to third with nine laps to go, with drama then unfolding. Binder was down on the exit of Turn 6 as he lost the rear of his KTM on the curb. Luckily, no one collected the South African with Foggia almost going down too right behind Binder – the latter remounted but that was his race over.

Title frontrunners were now starting to strut their stuff after quiet races. Arenas, Ogura and McPhee – who started P17 – were into the top six with seven laps to go, but the gaggle of riders that were line astern was still 19, down to Barry Baltus (CarXpert PrüstelGP). Suzuki was back in the lead but again, Rodrigo didn’t hang around getting back up front as the Gresini rider dipped underneath Suzuki at Turn 4.

With five to go, McPhee was making his move. The Scotsman was up to second at Turn 4 and then showed a wheel to Rodrigo down into Turn 8, but the latter was good on the brakes. Masia then got McPhee back at Turn 10 before carving past Rodrigo through Turn 11 to take the lead – it was starting the get very tasty. McPhee, with four laps to go, made a great move at the final corner to lead as there were just three laps left on the clock now.

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.

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	17	John MCPHEE	GBR	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Honda	146.4	39’48.952
2	20	79	Ai OGURA	JPN	Honda Team Asia	Honda	146.4	+0.037
3	16	24	Tatsuki SUZUKI	JPN	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	146.4	+0.232
4	13	52	Jeremy ALCOBA	SPA	Kömmerling Gresini Moto3	Honda	146.4	+0.393
5	11	2	Gabriel RODRIGO	ARG	Kömmerling Gresini Moto3	Honda	146.4	+0.490
6	10	14	Tony ARBOLINO	ITA	Rivacold Snipers Team	Honda	146.4	+0.543
7	9	5	Jaume MASIA	SPA	Leopard Racing	Honda	146.4	+0.833
8	8	55	Romano FENATI	ITA	Sterilgarda Max Racing Team	Husqvarna	146.4	+0.928
9	7	7	Dennis FOGGIA	ITA	Leopard Racing	Honda	146.4	+0.976
10	6	16	Andrea MIGNO	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	146.4	+1.121
11	5	23	Niccolò ANTONELLI	ITA	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	146.3	+1.554
12	4	6	Ryusei YAMANAKA	JPN	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	146.3	+1.691
13	3	54	Riccardo ROSSI	ITA	BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy	KTM	146.3	+1.921
14	2	82	Stefano NEPA	ITA	Pull&Bear Aspar Team Moto3	KTM	146.3	+1.961
15	1	99	Carlos TATAY	SPA	Reale Avintia Moto3	KTM	146.3	+2.239
16		53	Deniz ÖNCÜ	TUR	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	146.2	+3.927
17		27	Kaito TOBA	JPN	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	145.9	+8.517
18		9	Davide PIZZOLI	ITA	BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy	KTM	145.7	+11.399
19		50	Jason DUPASQUIER	SWI	CarXpert PruestelGP	KTM	145.7	+11.679
20		12	Filip SALAC	CZE	Rivacold Snipers Team	Honda	145.7	+11.835
21		89	Khairul Idham PAWI	MAL	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Honda	145.3	+18.331
22		73	Maximilian KOFLER	AUT	CIP Green Power	KTM	145.3	+18.598
23		92	Yuki KUNII	JPN	Honda Team Asia	Honda	145.3	+18.891
24		70	Barry BALTUS	BEL	CarXpert PruestelGP	KTM	146.2	+41.938
25		11	Sergio GARCIA	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	142.8	+1’01.077
Not Classified
		75	Albert ARENAS	SPA	Pull&Bear Aspar Team Moto3	KTM	146.4	2 Laps
		40	Darryn BINDER	RSA	CIP Green Power	KTM	146.3	9 Laps
		71	Ayumu SASAKI	JPN	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	145.3	17 Laps
		21	Alonso LOPEZ	SPA	Sterilgarda Max Racing Team	Husqvarna	145.1	17 Laps
		25	Raul FERNANDEZ	SPA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM		0 Lap

Moto3 World Standing 2020

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Albert ARENAS	KTM	SPA	106
2	Ai OGURA	Honda	JPN	101
3	John MCPHEE	Honda	GBR	92
4	Tatsuki SUZUKI	Honda	JPN	75
5	Tony ARBOLINO	Honda	ITA	70
6	Celestino VIETTI	KTM	ITA	66
7	Gabriel RODRIGO	Honda	ARG	59
8	Raul FERNANDEZ	KTM	SPA	51
9	Jaume MASIA	Honda	SPA	50
10	Dennis FOGGIA	Honda	ITA	44
11	Jeremy ALCOBA	Honda	SPA	43
12	Darryn BINDER	KTM	RSA	37
13	Andrea MIGNO	KTM	ITA	28
14	Niccolò ANTONELLI	Honda	ITA	26
15	Romano FENATI	Husqvarna	ITA	22
16	Stefano NEPA	KTM	ITA	22
17	Sergio GARCIA	Honda	SPA	19
18	Deniz ÖNCÜ	KTM	TUR	13
19	Filip SALAC	Honda	CZE	12
20	Ryusei YAMANAKA	Honda	JPN	12
21	Kaito TOBA	KTM	JPN	12
22	Ayumu SASAKI	KTM	JPN	8
23	Alonso LOPEZ	Husqvarna	SPA	5
24	Carlos TATAY	KTM	SPA	4
25	Riccardo ROSSI	KTM	ITA	3
26	Yuki KUNII	Honda	JPN
27	Barry BALTUS	KTM	BEL
28	Maximilian KOFLER	KTM	AUT
29	Davide PIZZOLI	KTM	ITA
30	Jason DUPASQUIER	KTM	SWI
31	Khairul Idham PAWI	Honda	MAL
32	Dirk GEIGER	KTM	GER

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com

Moto3™ – John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) victorious in Misano thriller.

50336926451_d26882e39b_o.small

tcif_mgp_07_rsm_m3_race.mxf.11_38_41_16.imagen-fija001_0.gallery_full_top_fullscreen.small

e-8196_1.small

2020_rsm_07_mo3_ogura_suzuki.small

e-8081_0.small

GRAN PREMIO LENOVO DI SAN MARINO E DELLA RIVIERA DI RIMINI

Moto3 World Standing 2020

Check Out Our Instagram Feed

motorbugs

Check Out Our Facebook Feed

MotorBugs

Recent Motorbugs News