Garcia on the gas at de Rio Hondo

April 8, 2022

Gran Premio Michelin De La Republica Argentina. Termas de Rio Hondo.

Quali:

Sergio Garcia came to Argentina second in the championship, and made it clear he meant business with the pole. Ayumu Sasaki was P2 and Izan Guevara P3. Sasakisan was given a long lap penalty to be taken in the race for an incident at Mandalika.

This made an interesting lineup, with usual suspects like Foggia, Masia and Oncu way down the field. Perhaps the enormous logistical problems with two freight planes breaking down and subsequent late arrival of a lot of team equipment played its part, but sometimes it becomes necessary to make the best out of a bad situation.

The Race:

Sergio Garcia Shot away from lights out, showing the way to Ayumu Sasaki in P2 and Izan Guevara P3. By lap two it was Sergio’s Aspar GASGAS teammate Guevara who led the race with Garcia second, and Riccardo Rossi P3, Ayumu Sasaki opting to take his long lap penalty early, leaving him P16!

Eighteen laps to go and Izan Guevara was still leading, with Sergio Garcia P2 and now Jaume Masia looking good in P3, but over five seconds behind the leaders, Masia was followed by the Brazilian rookie Diogo Moreira, who has impressed everyone with his quick rise to the top in the junior class. By the time lap six came around with 16 to go, Masia had closed the gap on Izan and Sergio to 0.622, with a group consisting of Andrea Migno, Moreira and Daniel Holgado staying with him.

Thirteen laps to go and Jaume Masia split the Aspar boys to take P2, with Guevara still leading and Garcia now demoted to P3, followed by Migno P4 and Moreira P4. Deniz Oncu was obliged to take a long lap penalty for a shortcut infringement, more trouble for the young Turk, already languishing in P14. Suddenly, Guevara pulled to the left of the track and then on to the grass, with a mechanical problem, no doubt gutted, having led the race. This put Migno in P1 with the consistent Garcia P2 and Jaume Masia still fighting hard in P3. Ayumu Sasaki meanwhile was up to P7, threading his way past many class riders on his way back to the front group.

Ten laps to go and Sergio Garcia pulled into the lead, with Migno P2 and now, Dennis Foggia in P3 with a blistering pace, but soon displaced by Masia. Whilst the leaders were scrapping it out, the young Brit Scott Ogden retired from the race, with some kind of mechanical issue. Six laps to go and it was a pressure cooker up at the front when Andrea Migno went on the inside of Jaume Masia lost control and slid into the side of Masia, taking them both out. It looked like the Oscars as Jaume gave Migno a sharp slap on his helmet to register his disgust, Masia re-started but Migno was left smarting at the side of the track. This left Sergio Garcia in the lead, with Dennis Foggia P2 and now Tatsuki Suzuki P3, Riccardo Rossi P4 and Ayumu Sasaki P5. Soon after Masia also retired to the pit box.

Two laps to go and Sergio Garcia was holding the lead, just, with Dennis Foggia looking threatening and his teammate Suzuki close by, then Ayumu Sasaki pushed into P4. On the last lap, Foggia went past Garcia to take the lead, and Suzuki followed his teammate, displacing Sergio to P3, this was classic Moto3 as they scrapped over the last few corners. The last two corners were sensational from Garcia as he went past both Leopard riders to take the win, with Ayumu Sasaki also displacing Suzuki for P3. Sergio Garcia is a class act, and this was textbook last corner action from him to take a well-deserved win over Foggia. Sasakisan must also be applauded for working his way to P3 from a long lap penalty and making up something like 14 places on his way.