Qualifying:
Quali ended up being a bit messy in Moto3. On the clock it was Jaume Masia P1, Sergio Garcia P2 and Jeremy Alcoba P3. Then the stewards got involved because some of the class had been naughty boys in free practice 2, dithering on track, trying to gain track position. So it was Jaume, Jeremy Alcoba and Gabriel Rodrigo on the front row. On a “mini-grid” set up in pitlane, there were seven riders, including ex P2 man Garcia and Pedro Acosta, second in last week’s race!
The Race
First lap and it was Darryn Binder, Gabriel Rodrigo and Tatsuki Suzuki leading the usual tight pack of riders. Soon though it was Kaito Toba in P1 with Binder and Suzuki close by, Xavier Artigas fourth then had to take a long lap penalty (one of two) for taking out three riders including John McPhee in last week’s race.
Fifteen laps to go and Filip Salac, the Czech rider, went screaming past the front runners to take the lead, Suzuki and Rodrigo following, probably a little stunned. At this point the gap from the main group to the magnificent pit lane seven was, yeah, seven seconds, this included Pedro Acosta, remember that. Corner by corner the riders swapped places, Rodrigo, Migno, Masia, Binder, as always with Moto3 it’s hard to keep up. Look away and there is a new leader.
Nine laps to go, halfway, and it was Darryn Binder leading, Filip Salac second and Gabi Rodrigo third, a pack of fourteen riders, with slipstreaming the king anyone could push through. Pedro Acosta, 20th place. Masia was squeezed towards the pit lane wall by Toba, leaving Jaume no choice but to back off and ending in 9th. With 7 laps to go Carlos Tatay clipped Artigas and the latter hit the deck, a complicated day for Xavier. Filip Salac had led the race a couple of times, but with 6 laps to go Sasaki and he clipped and Salac went down.
Five to go and it was Tobasan P1, John McPhee P2 and Andrea Migno P3. Then with four laps to go, Jeremy Alcoba ran close to Binder, got it all wrong and his bike corkscrewed in the air, hitting McPhee’s front wheel and then his head! It was a scary crash, and with adrenaline pumping, we had a bit of Karate Kid 2 from John and Jeremy, there has been some needle between these two for some time. (John apologised to the viewers for the spectacle in a post-race interview). Pedro Acosta sixth. With all that going on Jaume Masia hit the front with Migno second and Binder third. Pedro Acosta 5th.
In the last lap, it just went crazy, with a pack of five at the front, Garcia on the deck, Pedro from pit lane hit the front and astonishingly pulled a gap from Binder, Rodrigo third. Masia and Sasaki tripped each other, leaving Masia home alone once again.
The Result
Over the line, it was Pedro Acosta Red Bull KTM Ajo, Binder second Petronas Sprinta Racing, and Antonelli third, Avintia.
The unbelievable performance from the sixteen-year-old rookie Pedro Acosta, showing maturity beyond his years, coming from pit lane for the win, will surely have contracts flying, he is the real deal, for now, though he is in the right team at the right time with Ajo. Fantastic.
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Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
