Moto3 – Motul TT Assen 2022
Qualification:
Two Japanese riders on the front row at Assen with Ayumu Sasaki on pole and Tatsuki Suzuki P2. The on-form, Izan Guevara completed the front row on P3. Championship leader Sergio Garcia was P18, not where he needed to be with Guevara, his current rival on P2.
The Race:
Tatsuki Suzuki made a clean and emphatic start off the line with first David Munoz on his case, then Ayumu Sasaki showing the young Spaniard his front wheel and taking P2 from him. So on the first lap, it was Suzuki, Sasaki and Munoz, with Guevara in P5.
With twenty laps to go, it was frenetic at the front, Izan Guevara wasting no time in showing why he is a title contender and taking the lead from Sasaki, with young David Munoz in P3. Sergio Garcia, fighting for the lead in the championship, had made up ten places to take P8. Seventeen laps to go and Brit Scott Ogden crashed out, the end to a lacklustre weekend for the young rookie, let’s hope he can reset during the summer break, as he has been showing promise.
Five laps to go and Izan Guevara had been leading the race for fifteen laps, but could not shake off the chasing pack of Ayumu Sasaki, Tatsuki Suzuki, David Munoz and Jaume Masia, who were all having their own battle with each other. On this lap, Dennis Foggia crashed out, and Munoz overtook him, Foggia went wide and over the high kerb which catapulted him off the bike and probably out of the championship.
Three laps to go and Ayumu Sasaki took Izan Guevara for the lead, with Tatsuki Suzuki ever so close, the top five riders so close you could throw a blanket over them. Guevara was soon back in the lead, not wanting to lose what he most likely felt was his race, but Sasaki was to have a different plan for the young Spanish rider.
Crossing the line for the final lap and Ayumu Sasaki took the lead, with Suzuki in tow, and Masia taking the moment to get into P3, with Guevara P4, Munoz P5. It is always hectic on the last lap in Moto3, but this lap was hyper-hectic, as David Munoz pulled an over-ambitious move on Masia and took him and John McPhee out of the race, three down and out with just a few corners to go.
As Ayumu Sasaki crossed the line for the win, there was a lot of celebration in the paddock for his first win in this class, as he is a popular rider, hanging out with Fabio Quartararo and his clan. He had beaten Guevara fair and square, outthinking the Spanish rider in the last lap, and commented to his team in parc ferme “finally”, and on Max Biaggi’s birthday. Accolade must also go to Sergio Garcia, who placed third from P18 on the grid, an impressive calculated ride as always from the clinician of Moto3, he benefitted from the last-lap crash, but that is motor racing!
The Results:
Ayumu Sasaki, Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max, P1. Izan Guevara, GASGAS Aspar Team, P2. Sergio Garcia, GASGAS Aspar Team, P3.
Assen left Sergio Garcia in the championship lead with 182 points, only three ahead of teammate Izan Guevara. The expectations for Silverstone are through the roof, see you there!
Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
