Moto3 Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia: Mandalika Circuit: 23 Laps.
Quali:
There is some new talent in the Moto3 paddock and this was reflected in Q2 with Carlos Tatay on pole, the young Brazilian Diogo Moreira P2 and at his home GP, the Indonesian Mario Aji on P3.
The Race:
Diogo Moreira had a “technical issue” and had to start from the back of the grid, leaving a gap in the grid, in front of Andrea Migno.
Sergio Garcia had a sensational start from the third row of the grid to take the lead in the first few corners, but soon Andrea Migno, having taken advantage of the fresh air in front of him on the grid, was in the lead with Garcia P2 and Dennis Foggia P3. By lap two Foggia had taken the lead but went wide leaving Izan Guevara to take P1, Andrea Migno P2 and Sergio Garcia P3. Those who might be expected to be at the front were ninth and tenth, respectively Deniz Oncu and Jaume Masia.
Twenty laps to go and Dennis Foggia came back from his wide turn folly to take the lead, his Leopard Honda once again looking faster than the competition, this left Andrea Migno P2 and Izan Guevara P3. Seventeen laps to go and with Foggia in the lead by 1.950, it was up to teammates Izan Guevara P2, and Sergio Garcia, P3, to try and catch up on their GASGAS machines. Fifteen laps to go and Carlos Tatay was given a long lap penalty for taking a shortcut at turn 9, and Diogo Moreira’s tech problem caught up with him and he had to retire. Meanwhile, the GASGAS boys were still at it, joined by Andrea Migno, and with Foggia now 3.5 seconds up the road, this is where the real race was happening.
Eight laps to go and the constant battle between the GASGAS teammates of Izan Guevara and Sergio Garcia was a joy to watch, as Foggia disappeared into a different race up front in P1. Jaume Masia and Deniz Oncu must have seen the fun Guevara and Garcia were having and came to join the party with six laps to go, as did Andrea Migno. Two laps to go and Foggia was secure in P1. Behind him, there was a scrap with Izan Guevara P2, Jaume Masia P3, Deniz Oncu P4, as near as trading blows as you can in a motorcycle race. Taking advantage of these combatants, somehow Carlos Tatay had made his way up from P14 after his long lap penalty and was now in P5, and was poised to make the most of the ruck in front of him.
Last lap, and with Oncu and Masia literally running into each other, the fight for the podium was with Guevara and Tatay, and although Tatay had done so well to make his way up to the front runners, Guevara had the edge in the last few sectors. No one wants to see riders go down, and it’s even more gutting when it is on the last lap, which was the fate for Andrea Migno and Ayumu Sasaki, both DNF.
Not being able to catch Guevara right at the end, Tatay then had to contend with Izan’s teammate Sergio Garcia in the last sector, it was close but Carlos Tatay managed to get on the podium. Throughout the race Sergio Garcia was sensational, this time P4, but with a little more race planning he is going to be a factor, as he is so quick, cleanly aggressive and determined.
Results:
So it was Dennis Foggia making up for Qatar, his penalties and mistakes, who came across the line first at Mandalika on his Leopard Racing Honda. P2 was Izan Guevara, Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team. P3 Carlo Tatay CFMOTO Racing Prustel GP, CF Moto.
Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
