Angel Piqueras prevailed in a fantastic last lap battle with Adrian Fernandez and Jose Antonio Rueda to win the Moto3 race in Argentina.

Fernandez crossed the line by 0.036s behind but was unfortunate to not take the win after Piqueras exceeded track limits on the final lap.

Matteo Bertelle claimed pole for the second time in as many races but relinquished his lead into Turn 1.

Ryusei Yamanaka took the lead but it lasted for only the first few corners as Leopard Racing’s Almansa took over proceedings.

He ran wide at Turn 1 on Lap 2, demoting him to third as the KTM duo of Alvaro Carpe and Rueda slotted through.

The Spanish trio swapped positions once again as David Almansa recovered passed the duo to establish the lead once again.

LevelUp rider Joel Kelso was issued with two long lap penalties prior to the race starting, which he took on Laps 2 and 3, respectively, which saw him rejoin the race in 25th place.

After the long straight on Lap 4, Piqueras made the most of an open door to take the lead, while the rookie Carpe fell down to fifth place.

Almansa pounced to take the lead once again as the Leopard Racing rider looked the strongest pace setter thus far.

During the early phase of the race, no major groups formed as all riders focused on improving their positions. However, they all navigated the Termas de Rio Hondo using varied racing lines.

The first crash of the race saw 13th place rookie Guido Pini lose the front on Lap 7 as he was eyeing a move on British rider Scott Ogden.

Almansa’s counterpart Fernandez stormed his way at Turn 3 through to provide a 1-2 for the Leopard outfit.

His lead only lasted for one lap as both riders swapped positions at the same corner.

At the halfway stage, championship leader Rueda sneaked his way through pole-sitter Bertelle and Almansa to sandwich the Honda duo.

Fernandez lost four places down the back straight to drop down to fifth place, but Honda Team Asia rider Taiyo Furusato rose up to second for the first time.

Furusato took the lead a lap later heading into the same corner, producing an impressive performance after qualifying 14th.

The second half of the race continued with the same level of chaos, keeping the entertainment flowing and leaving no clear winner in sight.

Marco Uriarte’s race ended at Turn 11 on Lap 12, losing the front of his MLav Racing Honda.

The leading eight riders established a minor advantage over the rest of the field, forming over a half second advantage.

Bertelle was the leader heading into the final three laps, building a stronger gap between himself and the rest of the field.

Carpe crashed out on the final lap after trying to catch up to the podium spots.

Reuda and Piqueras showed their experience to set incredible lap times at the end to force their way through.

Piqueras crossed the line to snatch victory, but he exceeded track limits on the final lap which saw a three second penalty issued and a demotion.

Piqueras’ win made amends for his difficult Thai season opener, and Fernandez’s second confirmed his second podium of the season.

Antonio Rueda’s third place finish cemented a crucial podium for Red Bull KTM, edging out the Honda Team Asia rider Furusato.

Bertelle crossed the line in fifth spot despite leading for the vast majority of the second half of the race.

Almansa finished a second adrift to complete sixth place for Leopard Racing, who finished half a second ahead of Luca Lunetta.

Kelso recovered to finish seventh place after the two long lap penalties, finishing ahead of Japanese star Yamanaka and Stefano Nepa.

Joel Esteban finished in 11th, having fended off late pressure from CFMoto’s Dennis Foggia.

Scott Ogden and Adrian Cruces finished 13th and 14th for the CIP Green Power KTM outfit, as Cormac Buchanan rounded off the point scoring positions.

The post Angel Piqueras prevails to earn Moto3 win in Argentina appeared first on Motorsport Week.

KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda earned a commanding victory over the Moto3 field to win the first race of the season at the Chang International Circuit.

The Spanish rider won the race by over seven seconds from teammate Alvaro Carpe to continue his momentum from pre-season. 

It was Rueda who got the strongest start and was able to take the lead going into Turn 1.

Polesitter Matteo Bertelle was able to recover from being overtaken on the start and pulled a move on Rueda in Turn 3, but the Spanish rider regained the lead later in the first lap. 

The final corner saw the first collision of the race as rookie Cormac Buchanan crashed in the final corner and took out Eddie O’Shea.

The pack continued to grow with the leading group consisting of 15 riders in the first three laps as David Munoz made his way through to second.

A gap started to open between the top six riders and the rest of the field as Adrian Fernandez and the returning Dennis Foggia jostled for seventh. 

Bertelle made his way back through on Munoz for second as he looked to follow Rueda at the head of the field. 

Leader Rueda ran wide which allowed the group behind to close in as Luca Lunetta made contact with Munoz. 

The Spanish rider then rode into the side of Lunetta, which pushed the Italian off track and ended any chances of him getting onto the podium.

Yamanaka crashed out from third soon after, which promoted Adrian Fernandez into the podium positions. 

Despite being under investigation for his incident with Lunetta, Munoz continued with his momentum and challenged Rueda for the lead, but the KTM rider returned to the front of the pack. 

Munoz was then awarded a long lap penalty as he and Rueda continued to fight for the lead, but the IntactGP rider then crashed out of second to end his chances of race victory.

Piqueras made a mistake which saw him crash into the back of Kelso as the Australian exited the race, while Foggia had to take avoiding action and was pushed down into seventh. 

Rueda went largely unchallenged for the rest of the race and took the chequered flag to win the race by a margin of 7.276s. 

The final lap saw the battle for the podium heat up, with Stefano Nepa running wide as he seeked his first top-three finish, allowing Fernandez and Carpe running through.

It was Carpe who stole second place to ensure a 1-2 for the KTM Ajo team, as Fernandez completed the podium. 

Nepa took fourth place, while polesitter Bertelle ended the race in fifth position.

Foggia finished sixth on his return to Moto3, while David Almansa made contact with Scott Ogden in the last corner to take seventh, as the Brit crashed out of the race. 

Riccardo Rossi was eighth ahead of Joel Esteban in ninth, as Lunetta recovered from his incidents with Munoz to finish inside the top ten. 

South African Ruche Moodley was 11th on his Moto3 debut, seven seconds ahead of the rejoining Piqueras in 12th. 

Marcos Uriarte earned a 13th position on his debut with the MLav Racing team, with replacement rider Adrian Cruces taking 14th. 

Buchanan recovered from his early incident and took the final points position in 15th.

The post Jose Antonio Rueda earns commanding ThaiGP victory in Moto3 season opener appeared first on Motorsport Week.

World champion David Alonso earned another record-breaking win after a perfectly-judged Moto3 victory in Barcelona. 

The Colombian scored his 14th victory of the season after holding off Dani Holgado, a feat that had never been achieved in any class before. 

Alonso got the best start from pole position and was easily able to keep hold of his lead going into the first corner. 

The traditional group racing in Barcelona commenced at the start of the second lap, with Ivan Ortola and Holgado looking to challenge Alonso out front, though the Colombian was able to outbrake the pair to retain his lead.

Holgado maintained a pace advantage throughout the second lap and was able to pass Alonso over the line, and was followed through by Fernandez and Munoz. 

Ortola was also able to overtake Alonso later on the third lap as the world champion was demoted further into the group of 15 riders. 

Fernandez hit the front as the riders continued to exchange the lead due to the power of the slipstream on the home straight. 

Holgado returned to the head of the pack and while the Spanish rider was unable to break away from the group, his late braking allowed him to hold onto the lead for several laps. 

Alonso was slowly beginning to progress through the group, moving from seventh to fifth after overtaking Furusato and Piqueras. 

A small collision between Ortola and Munoz allowed the Colombian to take advantage and gain two more places as he returned to the podium positions while the two Spanish riders were pushed back into the field. 

The world champion made use of the slipstream and was able to hit the front with five laps to go, as he attempted to break from the 12-rider group. 

With three laps to go, the slipstream effect proved too powerful once more as Fernandez, Munoz, Ortola and Holgado all made passes on the world champion. 

A superb double overtake from Alonso saw him retake the lead as he started the final lap at the head of the group. 

Fernandez went wide at Turn 1 and took a shortcut, which pushed him out of podium contention despite rejoining in third. 

Holgado tried everything to get back on terms with Alonso out front, but was too far behind to challenge the Aspar rider. 

Alonso crossed the line to make more history with his seventh consecutive race win, just over a tenth clear of Holgado. 

Piqueras crossed the line in fourth, but inherited the final podium place after teammate Fernandez was penalised for taking the shortcut at Turn 1. 

Jose Antonio Rueda displayed momentous late race pace and took fourth, mere tenths clear of Munoz in fifth. 

Munoz was then demoted one position after the race finished due to irresponsible riding as Ryusei Yamanaka inherited fifth place. 

Taiyo Furusato was just behind in seventh, while rookie Jacob Roulstone crossed the line in an impressive eighth. 

Ortola dropped down the order on the final lap and crossed the line in ninth as Collin Veijer rounded out the top ten.

Fernandez slotted into 11th after being awarded a three second penalty on the final lap ahead of Joel Kelso in 12th.

Tatsuki Suzuki took 13th while the Snipers pair of David Almansa and Matteo Bertelle completed the points finishers in 14th and 15th respectively. 

The post World Champion David Alonso seals record-breaking Barcelona Moto3 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aspar’s David Alonso took a closely-fought win in the Malaysian Moto3 race to record his sixth straight win in the class. 

Alonso’s victory means that he has won 13 races in the 2024 Moto3 season and he continues to set records in the lightweight class.

Ivan Ortola made the most of a poor start from polesitter Adrian Fernandez to take the lead down into the first corner. 

David Almansa also had a stunning start, moving from ninth to second in the first corner before overtaking Ortola to head the pack.

World champion David Alonso and Dani Holgado were continuing to pressure the leading duo going onto the second lap, but remained stuck in position behind Almansa and Ortola. 

Holgado nearly made contact with Ortola when pushing for second and highsided out of the race to put his second place in the riders’ standings in jeopardy. 

The incident involving Holgado and Ortola forced Alonso to take avoiding action as the champion dropped down to 12th.

Polesitter Fernandez was then forced to retire whilst still in the leading group due to an engine failure. 

Joel Kelso moved to the front of the pack after overtaking Almansa, and was soon followed through by Taiyo Furusato who was making progress from 16th on the grid. 

Angel Piqueras joined teammate Fernandez in retiring from the race due to a technical problem, ending a miserable Sunday in Sepang for the Leopard team.

The engine woes continued for the Honda-supplied machines as Scott Ogden also pitted with an issue. 

Furusato, who was the sole Honda runner in the lead group, took the lead from Kelso with eight laps to go, but the Australian rider was able to recover his position on the main straight.

Kelso ran wide at Turn 4 which allowed both Furusato and Alonso through, though he was still able to rejoin in third. 

The leading pair were able to pull a slight gap on the duelling Ortola and Kelso, but Furusato still had firm control of the race with five laps to go. 

A moment for Furusato in the penultimate corner allowed Alonso to take the lead with three laps to go as the Colombian looked to extend his winning run. 

It appeared to be a seven-rider shootout with two laps remaining, as Ortola and Collin Veijer jostled for the final podium position. 

The fastest rider on circuit in the closing stages was Jose Antonio Rueda, as the KTM Ajo rider was able to breeze past Ortola and Veijer to seemingly steal the final podium place. 

There was immense pressure from Furusato which forced Alonso on the grass, but the battle for the lead would go right to the line.

The Colombian took the chequered flag to win his sixth race in a row in an emotional win for the Valencia-based Aspar team. 

Furusato crossed the line second, just 0.088s behind race winner Alonso. 

Rueda won out in the battle for third as he rounded out the podium behind the leading pair.

Ortola crossed the line in fourth, just under a tenth clear of Veijer in fifth, as one-time race leader Kelso took sixth ahead of Ryusei Yamanaka in seventh.

Stefano Nepa was eighth as he fended off a late charge from Matteo Bertelle in ninth, while Luca Lunetta rounded out the top ten. 

Almansa would cross the line in 11th, six seconds clear of Jacob Roulstone in 12th.

Filippo Farioli took the flag in 13th ahead of Xabi Zurutuza in 14th, while Tatchakorn Buasri rounded out the points finishers in 15th.

The post Champion David Alonso takes tightly-fought Malaysian Moto3 victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

World champion David Alonso earned a record-breaking 12th Moto3 victory of the season at the Thai GP in Buriram.

The Colombian had equalled Valentino Rossi’s record for most wins in the lightweight class in Phillip Island last weekend, but victory in Buriram means Alonso stands alone in the record books. 

Before the race began, it was shortened to 12 laps due to rain in the area, giving the riders a dilemma as to which tyres to choose. 

Polesitter Joel Kelso got a fantastic start and was able to hold his lead from Collin Veijer into the first corner.

On the third lap, Veijer overtook Kelso to take charge of the leading group of seven as world champion Alonso progressed through to second.

Alonso was then able to take the lead from Veijer as the red and white flags started to wave as spots of rain became visible. 

The leading pack continued to jostle for position which allowed Taiyo Furusato to get to the front and build a gap of six tenths to the 10-rider group. 

The champion moved to the head of the chasers and set a lap record to close the gap to Furusato, and was able to move past the Japanese rider to regain the lead. 

Leopard’s contenders Angel Piqueras and Adrian Fernandez continued their strong showing in the flyaways, but a collision between the pair saw them both exit the race on the penultimate lap. 

Ivan Ortola took the lead from Alonso on the final lap, but Alonso was quick to respond as it was a dash to the line between five riders. 

Alonso was able to hold his line into the final corner and clinched his 12th victory of the campaign. 

The race for the podium was behind the world champion, as Luca Lunetta, Veijer and Furusato duelled it out for the final two spots on the rostrum.

Lunetta was able to hang on to second, but a collision between Veijer and Furusato saw the Japanese rider crash out before taking the flag as Veijer stole third. 

Ortola was fourth after running wide at the final corner as Furusato was reinstated to fifth. 

David Munoz led the pair of Boe Motorsport bikes over the line in sixth, as Kelso took seventh. 

Scott Ogden crossed the line in eighth ahead of Stefano Nepa in ninth, while Tatsuki Suzuki rounded out the top 10. 

Ryusei Yamanaka took the flag in 11th, narrowly clear of Dani Holgado in 12th and Riccardo Rossi in 13th. 

Filippo Farioli was 14th as Jose Antonio Rueda completed the points finishers in 15th. 

The post World champion David Alonso earns record-breaking Moto3 Thai victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Newly crowned World Champion David Alonso earned his fourth successive Moto3 victory in an instant classic at Phillip Island.

Alonso’s 11th victory of the campaign saw him equal Valentino Rossi’s record of the most wins in a lightweight class season, and broke Joan Mir’s record for the most points.

MT Helmets’ Ivan Ortola got a good launch from pole to hold his position into Turn 1, but Boe Motorsports’ David Munoz was able to sweep around the outside to take the lead at Turn 2. 

Stefano Nepa briefly took control going onto the second lap but relinquished the lead to home favourite Joel Kelso after serving the first of the long lap penalties he had received after qualifying.

The race proved to develop into a classic Phillip Island group setting, as the leading pack increased lap-on-lap to 17 riders in contention.

Newly crowned champion Alonso moved to the head of the field but was unable to break up the new leading group of 11.

Collin Veijer looked to progress through the field, but made contact with Angel Piqueras, and the Dutchman took Ortola down after losing control of his Husqvarna machine. 

The incident allowed the group to close back up as Adrian Fernandez took to the front and was able to pull a slight gap on the rest of the field with 7 laps to go.

Alonso was able to make his way back to the front after brief battles in the group and used late race pace to pull away from Munoz in second. 

A strong move from Luca Lunetta on Taiyo Furusato further back in the leading pack saw the podium battle become a fight between the front four. 

It was Alonso who judged the race to perfection to take the chequered flag, two seconds clear of his rivals. 

The Colombian’s win down under saw him earn his fourth win in a row and equal Valentino Rossi’s record of 11 victories in a lightweight class season.

Tech3 KTM’s Dani Holgado won a four-way race for second place, as Fernandez rounded out the podium in third.

Nepa and Munoz both narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth and fifth.

Ryusei Yamanaka took the flag in sixth with compatriot Furusato trailing behind in seventh. 

Lunetta was eighth after a mistake late on in the race ahead of Jose Antonio Rueda in ninth, while Piqueras rounded out the top 10. 

Home hero Kelso came home in 11th, narrowly clear of Riccardo Rossi in 12th and fellow Australian Jacob Roulstone in 13th.

Matteo Bertelle took 14th for the Snipers team ahead of Tatsuki Suzuki, who took the final point in 15th.

The post David Alonso seals Moto3 victory in Phillip Island masterclass appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aspar’s David Alonso became Colombia’s first-ever motorcycle world champion after winning his 10th Moto3 race of the season at Motegi.

Alonso sealed a dominant title with his victory over Collin Veijer. With his 14th Moto3 win overall, he also became the rider to with the most victories in the class.

It was a good start from poleman Ivan Ortola who was able to get the run down into Turn 1 ahead of Alonso and Veijer. 

Holgado, the main championship challenger to Alonso, got off the line fantastically to move up from ninth to third, overtaking the Colombian in what could have been a vital move for the title fight. 

Adrian Fernandez was another rider who had a fine opening lap and was able to push Alonso back a further place and into the clutches of Leopard teammate Piqueras.

Fernandez was clearly buoyed by his first podium in Mandalika and was able to pass Holgado and Ortola to take early control of proceedings. 

At the midpoint of the race, the fastest laps flew in as the riders looked to keep in touch with the leading trio of Fernandez, Ortola, and Piqueras. The second and third-placed men set successive race lap records. 

With eight laps to go, Alonso decided to turn up the heat and broke the lap record that had been set just laps before as he overtook Piqueras in an attempt to keep tabs on his nearest contender Holgado. 

As the pace appeared to tumble, it was the Colombian with all the momentum and he was able to overtake both Holgado and Ortola to get up to second to put himself in a strong position for the title.

The leading group appeared to have become a group of six, but was reduced to five when Piqueras slid out and crashed when attempting to rejoin.  

Alonso took the lead with three laps to go and tried to break away from Fernandez and Ortola to give himself the best shot of taking both the race and the Moto3 title.

Ortola was pushing hard to stick with Alonso and the pressure proved too much as the Spaniard crashed out of the race.

Battles behind allowed Alonso to clear off into the distance as he took the flag to take both the victory and the title in Motegi. 

Veijer was victorious in his battle with Fernandez as he crossed the line in second ahead of the Spaniard in third.

Holgado was disappointed in fourth after losing out on the title while Jose Antonio Rueda finished fifth for KTM Ajo. 

Home hero Ryusei Yamanaka took sixth, leading compatriot Tatsuki Suzuki over the line in seventh.

David Munoz finished the race in eighth ahead of Japan’s Taiyo Furusato in ninth, while Stefano Nepa rounded out the top 10. 

The Snipers duo of Matteo Bertelle and David Almansa took the chequered flag in 11th and 12th, a second clear of Filippo Farioli in 13th.

Riccardo Rossi came home in 14th, while Joel Esteban completed the points finishers in 15th.

The post Record-breaking David Alonso seals Moto3 championship after Motegi victory appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aspar’s David Alonso took a remarkable last-lap victory in Indonesia to increase his championship lead in the Moto3 standings. 

Alonso’s win over Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez means that the Colombian has a championship point to play in Motegi, and could win the title in Japan next weekend. 

MT Helmets’ Ivan Ortola got away well from pole position, but it was Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato who got the run down to the first corner and was able to overtake the Spanish rider going into Turn 1. 

Furusato was then the one giving the slipstream to his rivals and was overtaken by IntactGP’s Collin Veijer and Fernandez as they looked to clear away from the group with their different hard compound tyres. 

Poleman Ortola had to serve a double long lap penalty due to his third offence for riding extremely slowly on the racing line in qualifying. He took his penalty immediately to allow Alonso to chase after the top three. 

The top ten continued to follow each other closely in the early stages of the race, with very few changes of position occurring amongst the leading group of riders. 

Tatsuki Suzuki appeared to be the one with the pace with 10 laps to go, and pulled moves on Daniel Holgado and Alonso to move up to the podium positions. 

Veijer was looking to take advantage of the battles emerging behind him and attempted to pull a gap to those behind, but he lost the front on the change of direction at Turn 8 and crashed out of the lead of the race.

The Dutchman’s exit from the race allowed Fernandez to take control ahead of Holgado and Suzuki, who were jostling for second behind the new leader. 

With four laps to go, the group decided to up the pace and Fernandez was demoted to fourth after being overtaken by Furusato, Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz and Alonso. 

Furusato attempted to get back on terms with those ahead of him after losing places on the start/finish straight, but highsided out of the race at Turn 1 with three laps to go.

It was a group of six that were going for the win and a slipstream from five riders ahead of him allowed Sic58’s Luca Lunetta to take the lead, which he would lose to Fernandez one lap later. 

Championship leader Alonso made use of his experience fighting for wins on the final lap and once again took charge with a few corners of the race to go, and would take the chequered flag first, ahead of first-time podium finisher Fernandez in second and Munoz in third.  

Leopard’s Angel Piqueras crossed the line in fourth but ran off the track at the final corner, along with fifth-placed finisher Lunetta.

Holgado came home in sixth ahead of Suzuki and Boe Motorsport’s Joel Kelso. 

Ortola eventually took ninth despite having to serve a third long lap in the race for a shortcut, and LevelUp MTA’s Nicola Carraro rounded out the top 10. 

KTM Ajo rider Jose Antonio Rueda took 11th after serving two long lap penalties, ahead of Snipers’ Matteo Bertelle in 12th and MLav Racing’s Scott Ogden in 13th. 

Aspar’s Joel Esteban finished the race in 14th while LevelUp MTA’s Stefano Nepa rounded out the points in 15th despite taking three long lap penalties in the race.

The post David Alonso earns Moto3 championship point after victory in Indonesia appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aspar’s David Alonso took a stunning Moto3 victory in Misano over Leopard’s Angel Piqueras to extend his championship lead to 79 points.

Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato got away well from pole position, leading championship leader Alonso and MT Helmets’ Ivan Ortola down into the first corner.

Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz, who crashed out on Lap 1 last weekend, dropped out of contention on the first lap again after contact with Stefano Nepa.

Championship leader Alonso looked to take charge of the race and break away from the chasing group after overtaking race leader Furusato, but was being followed closely by last weekend’s winner Piqueras. 

Daniel Holgado looked to get back into championship contention and pulled two aggressive moves on Furusato and Piqueras to take second.

Holgado set the fastest lap of the race as he looked to take control from Alonso out front, and overtook the Colombian to lead and was followed through by Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez. 

Piqueras took the lead a short while later and wanted to break the group, but made a mistake going into Turn 15 and was re-passed by Alonso and Holgado. 

Furusato was showing strong pace as he looked to take third from Fernandez, but contact sent both riders wide and pushed them back down the order. 

Piqueras once again looked to have the pace to challenge for the lead and set a new race lap record while chasing Holgado for second. 

The battle for victory looked to be between leading the group of Alonso, Holgado, Piqueras and the Husqvarna of Collin Veijer, and the championship leader seemed to have the advantage despite holding a track limits warning. 

Holgado pulled a late move on Alonso to take the lead with a lap go, which also allowed Piqueras to follow through into second. 

Alonso responded and pulled a stunning double overtake on the leading pair to retake the lead of the race and took the chequered flag in first ahead of Piqueras in second.

Holgado crossed the line in third but was demoted a position on the final lap and dropped to fourth, while Veijer inherited the final podium position. 

Ortola came home in fifth, ahead of Sic58’s Luca Lunetta who was sixth, ahead of Boe Motorsport’s Joel Kelso in seventh and Fernandez in eighth. 

Snipers’ Matteo Bertelle showed last race pace to come home in 9th, ahead of KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda in 10th.

Husqvarna’s Tatsuki Suzuki was 11th, ahead of Sic58’s Filippo Farioli in 12th and Furusato, who fell out of contention after receiving a long lap penalty for track limits, crossed the line in 13th.

Nepa finished 14th despite first lap contact while MT Helmets’ Ryusei Yamanaka rounded out the points finishers in 15th.

The post David Alonso takes statement Moto3 victory in Misano appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Leopard Racing’s Angel Piqueras took a stunning Misano Moto3 victory over Tech3’s Dani Holgado despite serving a double long-lap penalty.

A photo-finish separated the Spanish duo as Piqueras crossed the line 0.035s clear of Holgado in second. 

David Alonso got a good start from pole, but the Leopard of Piqueras got the jump from fourth on the grid and was able to swoop around the outside of the front row starters Luca Lunetta and Ivan Ortola, as well as poleman Alonso, to take the lead. 

An incident further back in the field saw Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz, CIP’s Ricciardo Rossi and Aragon winner Jose Antonio Rueda crash out of the race at Turn 1, with CF Moto’s Joel Esteban and MT Helmets’ Ryusei Yamanaka also running off into the gravel. 

Piqueras looked to break out front knowing he would have to take a double long lap for a crash with Scott Ogden in practice, but he was being followed by Ortola and Holgado, who were looking to close the gap to CF Moto’s Alonso in the championship. 

Holgado made the first move to overtake Piqueras for the lead as the trio looked to extend their margin over the duelling Lunetta and Alonso behind.

There was impending heartbreak for Lunetta, as the stewards ruled that he had made a jump start, along with Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez, and both received double long-lap penalties, putting an end to their chances of victory.

Piqueras dropped out of leading contention as both Leopard riders opted to take their long laps on Lap 3 – the Spaniard rejoined in 15th after completing his penalty, still running as the fastest rider on track. 

Lunetta opted to take his long lap on Lap 4, which left Ortola and Holgado as the leading duo with a 1.6 second advantage over the chasing pack led by Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato.

Furusato was leading the fight for third over Australian Joel Kelso and Alonso, with Alonso taking the pair in an effort to close the gap to the leading duo.  

It wasn’t long until the lead group became a group of five as Furusato overtook Alonso and Holgado in quick succession to move up to second. 

Holgado retook Furusato to restore his second place a lap later, though Furusato would repay the favour as the two continued to tussle for second behind Ortola. 

Alonso looked to stake his claim for victory on Lap 16, as he overtook Furusato and Holgado to get up to second and chase after Ortola. 

Alonso then took Ortola at the start of Lap 17 and looked to break away from Furusato and Holgado as the duo continued their battle. 

The battles out front brought Piqueras back into contention, as he overtook Collin Veijer, Kelso and Ortola to put himself in contention for the lead.

Piqueras forced Furusato into a mistake as he advanced onto the podium and was chasing down Holgado and Alonso on the final lap.  

The Leopard rider was clearly the fastest out of the leading pack, and his pace advantage saw him overtake Alonso for the lead.  

The battles raged on in the top three, but contact between Alonso and Holgado saw the Colombian relegated to sixth, and he would be demoted a further place to seventh following a post-race penalty. 

Holgado refused to give up the chase and had a better exit out of the final corner but it was Piqueras who took the flag for his first win in the Moto3 class, as Ortola rounded out the podium. 

Furusato came over the line in fourth while Husqvarna’s Veijer was fifth, ahead of the duelling Kelso in sixth and championship leader Alonso in seventh.

Veijer’s Husqvarna team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki took eighth with Lunetta and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Filippo Farioli completing the top-10.

Snipers’ David Almansa missed out on the top-10 by less than a tenth of a second, with Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone just a few tenths behind him in 12th.

Fernandez’s long-lap penalty resigned him to 13th place with Stefano Nepa and MLAV Racings Ogden rounding out the points-paying positions.

The post Phenomenal Piqueras takes Moto3 victory over Holgado in Misano appeared first on Motorsport Week.