Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrüstelGP) sealed his second race win of the season after leading from start to finish at the eyetime Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, beating a hard charging Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) to second, with the truly heroic Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) completing the podium after a stunning race, just over a week after surgery on a broken left wrist.
Bezzecchi was the man to get the holeshot from pole, with Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team Moto3), Martin and Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider) tucking in behind the Italian, with the four creating an immediate gap to fifth in the opening lap. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) then joined the fray after bridging the one second gap a few laps later, but a mistake from Dalla Porta dropped him back into the clutches of the second group.
Back at the front and it was Bezzecchi holding station, no one able to get close enough to make a move, with Martin, Arenas and Masia interchanging behind. The Championship leader threatened to make the break in the latter stages, creating a gap of 0.6 on two separate occasions, but the miraculous Martin was able to claw his title rival back in, the final two sectors a particular strong point for the Honda rider, setting us up for a classic final couple of laps.
It was time to cue to jaws music, with second place Bastianini setting the fastest laps of the race in the latter stages to reel in the leading group. Bezzecchi was half a second clear at the front and with Arenas running wide at Turn 1, Bastianini then had Martin and Masia firmly in his sights. Martin was passed at Turn 6, then Masia ran slightly wide at the penultimate corner to allow Bastianini through, with Martin slicing his way up the inside of his fellow Spaniard to claim the final podium place on the final corner – Bezzecchi in the meantime claiming his second win of the season to extend his lead in the Championship to 12 points.
Arenas came home fourth, just ahead of Dalla Porta and Masia in 5th and 6th – late heartache for the number 5 rider as he missed out on a maiden podium. Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) crossed the line in a fantastic seventh, with Rodrigo slipping down to eighth by the time the checkered flag was waved. Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) was ninth at the Red Bull Ring, with Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) rounding out the top ten.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) was 0.015 behind Canet in 11th, with John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) producing a fantastic comeback rider to finish 12th from 30th on the grid. Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrustelGP), Philipp Oettl (Sudmetal Schedl GP Racing) and Marcos Ramirez (Bester Capital Dubai) completed the top 15.
The day belonged to Bezzecchi in terms of Championship standings, but how important will this third place prove for Martin? Simply stunning from the Spanaird, who now gets two weeks rest before the British GP at Silverstone.
EYETIME MOTORRAD GRAND PRIX VON ÖSTERREICH
Moto3 Race Classification 2018.
Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | 12 | Marco BEZZECCHI | ITA | Redox PruestelGP | KTM | 160.0 | 37’13.198 |
2 | 20 | 33 | Enea BASTIANINI | ITA | Leopard Racing | Honda | 160.0 | +0.473 |
3 | 16 | 88 | Jorge MARTIN | SPA | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 160.0 | +0.544 |
4 | 13 | 75 | Albert ARENAS | SPA | Angel Nieto Team Moto3 | KTM | 159.9 | +1.373 |
5 | 11 | 48 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | ITA | Leopard Racing | Honda | 159.9 | +1.421 |
6 | 10 | 5 | Jaume MASIA | SPA | Bester Capital Dubai | KTM | 159.9 | +1.519 |
7 | 9 | 71 | Ayumu SASAKI | JPN | Petronas Sprinta Racing | Honda | 159.4 | +8.585 |
8 | 8 | 19 | Gabriel RODRIGO | ARG | RBA BOE Skull Rider | KTM | 159.4 | +8.658 |
9 | 7 | 14 | Tony ARBOLINO | ITA | Marinelli Snipers Team | Honda | 159.4 | +8.691 |
10 | 6 | 44 | Aron CANET | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Honda | 159.4 | +8.809 |
11 | 5 | 21 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | ITA | Del Conca Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 159.4 | +8.824 |
12 | 4 | 17 | John MCPHEE | GBR | CIP – Green Power | KTM | 159.4 | +8.944 |
13 | 3 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Redox PruestelGP | KTM | 159.4 | +9.671 |
14 | 2 | 65 | Philipp OETTL | GER | Sudmetal Schedl GP Racing | KTM | 159.0 | +14.685 |
15 | 1 | 42 | Marcos RAMIREZ | SPA | Bester Capital Dubai | KTM | 159.0 | +14.697 |
16 | 27 | Kaito TOBA | JPN | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 158.7 | +19.377 | |
17 | 7 | Adam NORRODIN | MAL | Petronas Sprinta Racing | Honda | 158.7 | +19.419 | |
18 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | JPN | SIC58 Squadra Corse | Honda | 158.7 | +19.504 | |
19 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | RSA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 158.7 | +19.550 | |
20 | 32 | Ai OGURA | JPN | Asia Talent Team | Honda | 158.7 | +19.602 | |
21 | 22 | Kazuki MASAKI | JPN | RBA BOE Skull Rider | KTM | 158.6 | +19.706 | |
22 | 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse | Honda | 158.6 | +19.981 | |
23 | 8 | Nicolo BULEGA | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 158.4 | +23.419 | |
24 | 72 | Alonso LOPEZ | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Honda | 158.3 | +24.056 | |
25 | 77 | Vicente PEREZ | SPA | Reale Avintia Academy 77 | KTM | 158.1 | +27.634 | |
26 | 10 | Dennis FOGGIA | ITA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | KTM | 158.1 | +27.747 | |
27 | 81 | Stefano NEPA | ITA | CIP – Green Power | KTM | 157.5 | +35.938 | |
28 | 41 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | THA | Honda Team Asia | Honda | 156.8 | +46.868 | |
29 | 73 | Maximilian KOFLER | AUT | Motosport Kofler | KTM | 156.7 | +47.289 | |
Not Classified | ||||||||
16 | Andrea MIGNO | ITA | Angel Nieto Team Moto3 | KTM | 157.3 | 12 Laps |
Moto3 World Standing 2018.
Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Marco BEZZECCHI | KTM | ITA | 158 |
2 | Jorge MARTIN | Honda | SPA | 146 |
3 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Honda | ITA | 121 |
4 | Aron CANET | Honda | SPA | 118 |
5 | Enea BASTIANINI | Honda | ITA | 117 |
6 | Gabriel RODRIGO | KTM | ARG | 84 |
7 | Jakub KORNFEIL | KTM | CZE | 80 |
8 | Marcos RAMIREZ | KTM | SPA | 67 |
9 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Honda | ITA | 63 |
10 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | ITA | 60 |
11 | Philipp OETTL | KTM | GER | 54 |
12 | Jaume MASIA | KTM | SPA | 54 |
13 | Albert ARENAS | KTM | SPA | 50 |
14 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | ITA | 50 |
15 | John MCPHEE | KTM | GBR | 43 |
16 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Honda | JPN | 40 |
17 | Tony ARBOLINO | Honda | ITA | 32 |
18 | Ayumu SASAKI | Honda | JPN | 32 |
19 | Alonso LOPEZ | Honda | SPA | 31 |
20 | Kaito TOBA | Honda | JPN | 26 |
21 | Adam NORRODIN | Honda | MAL | 24 |
22 | Darryn BINDER | KTM | RSA | 20 |
23 | Dennis FOGGIA | KTM | ITA | 17 |
24 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | SPA | 13 |
25 | Makar YURCHENKO | KTM | KAZ | 9 |
26 | Livio LOI | KTM | BEL | 8 |
27 | Nicolo BULEGA | KTM | ITA | 7 |
28 | Kazuki MASAKI | KTM | JPN | 7 |
29 | Manuel PAGLIANI | Honda | ITA | 6 |
30 | Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT | Honda | THA | 2 |
31 | Ai OGURA | Honda | JPN | 1 |
32 | Luca GRÜNWALD | KTM | GER | |
33 | Vicente PEREZ | KTM | SPA | |
34 | Stefano NEPA | KTM | ITA | |
35 | Filip SALAC | KTM | CZE | |
36 | Ryan VAN DE LAGEMAAT | KTM | NED | |
37 | Maximilian KOFLER | KTM | AUT |
Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com