Petronas Yamaha SRT snapped up the Frenchman ahead of their debut year in MotoGP™ in 2019 and it didn’t take long for Quartararo to repay their trust in him. At just 20 years, 14 days, the Frenchman became the youngest poleman in MotoGP™ history, breaking the previous record set in 2013 by Marc Marquez, who was 20 years, 62 days.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
8. Apart from doing some modelling in his free time, Quartararo also took up golf this season, playing Monday through Friday in the lead up to the Assen TT, though, judging from his post-race celebrations, he may need to hit the driving range again.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) is the 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion. After Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed out of the race lead in the closing stages of the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, the title was decided as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) emerges victorious, with Pol Espargaro securing his maiden podium with Honda. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) passed Quartararo on the last lap to bag his second podium of the season, but the day – and year – belongs to the Frenchman.
From pole position, Bagnaia got a decent getaway but it was teammate Jack Miller who got the best launch from the front row. Pecco grabbed the holeshot though as Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) carved his way into P2 from the second row. Miller grabbed P2 from Oliveira at Turn 4 though, with Marc Marquez then getting the better of Oliveira down into Turn 8. Quartararo didn’t make a rapid start, but more importantly, he stayed trouble-free.
The top three of Pecco, Miller and Marc Marquez soon found themselves 1.3s clear of Pol Espargaro, who had also dispatched Oliveira, before drama unfolded for one of the Ducatis. Miller, at Turn 15, was down and out of the race from P2 on Lap 4, Bagnaia’s wingman was no longer able to help the Italian. Now, Pecco had Marc Marquez swarming all over his rear wheel. Meanwhile, Quartararo was up into P10, scrapping with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing).
Heartbreak! Bagnaia crash hands title to Quartararo
By Lap 9, Quartararo was up to ninth. Martin, on Lap 13, crashed at Turn 1 as Quartararo become embroiled in a five-rider battle – fifth to ninth split by less than a second. Quartararo, keeping calm, picked his way past teammate Franco Morbidelli and Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) to climb to P7 on Lap 15 of 27, with Pecco continuing to hold the relentless Marc Marquez at bay.
With 10 to go, Quartararo sliced his way past Rins for P6, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) next on El Diablo’s radar. And sure enough, with nine to go, Quartararo was ahead of the Aprilia RS-GP and now in P5. Baring a disaster from Oliveira, that was as good as it was going to get for Quartararo, with the KTM star eight seconds up the road. Or so we thought.
17 seconds ahead of Quartararo, Bagnaia was holding up his end of the bargain. All Pecco could do on home soil was win, but he had an eight-time World Champion hanging onto his coattails. Pecco was looking incredibly strong, starting to pull clear of Marc Marquez, before Lap 23 of the Emilia-Romagna GP became the title-deciding lap of 2021. Turn 15, where Miller crashed earlier in the race, saw Bagnaia crash unhurt. Straight back up on his feet, Pecco knew. Ducati knew. Yamaha knew. Quartararo knew. A new MotoGP™ World Champion was about to be crowned.
Pecco’s crash, closely followed by an Oliveira crash, left Marc Marquez P1, Pol Espargaro P2 and Quartararo, the new World Champion a sensational P3 from P15 on the grid. Enea Bastianini wasn’t going to allow Quartararo to have an easy cruise home to the podium though, the Italian was hungry for a second P3 of the season.
The chequered flag came out and Marc Marquez won his second race in a row, his third of the season, with Pol Espargaro coming home second to hand Repsol Honda a fantastic 1-2. Bastianini, with a move at Turn 14, got the better of Quartararo on the last lap to cement another wonderful rostrum to take the lead in the Rookie of the Year fight, but just behind, introducing the 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion: Fabio Quartararo! Jubilation ensued for the Frenchman and Yamaha – what a phenomenal season for all involved.
Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) crossed the line in fifth to beat sixth place Rins by 1.2s, with Aleix Espargaro taking P7. P8 went the way of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) who claims his best result in Aprilia colours, Marini secured a second top 10 of the season in P9 sporting a special Grazie Vale colour scheme, and speaking of, Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) crossed the line in 10th in his final MotoGP™ race on Italian soil. A fitting send-off to the nine-time World Champion in front of his adoring fans. Two races remain in Portugal and Valencia to enjoy The Doctor doing what he loves best – racing motorcycles.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had an eventful day. The South African crashed on the sighting lap, started from pitlane and ended up finishing P11. Michele Pirro (Ducati Lenovo Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Morbidelli and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) – despite a crash – were the final points scorers at Misano.
There we have it. The 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion is crowned, congratulations to Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha on an incredible season, as we now look forward to the final two races of the season.
Top 10:
1. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)
2. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 4.859
3. Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) + 12.013
4. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 12.775
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 16.458
6. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 17.669
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 18.468
8. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 18.607
9. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) + 25.417
10. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 27.735
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
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Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
16 – Overall, Quartararo became the 16th rider to do so along with Les Graham, Umberto Masetti, Libero Liberati, Barry Sheene, Kenny Roberts, Marco Lucchinelli, Franco Uncini, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Mick Doohan, Kenny Roberts Jr., Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Biography:
– Date of birth: 20 April 1999
– Place of birth: Nice, France
– First Grand Prix: Qatar 2015, Moto3™
– First pole position: Jerez 2015, Moto3™
– First podium: Austin 2015, Moto3™
– First victory: Barcelona 2018, Moto2™
– Grands Prix: 116 (49 in MotoGP™)
– Victories: 9 (8 in MotoGP™)
– Podiums: 24 (20 in MotoGP™)
– Pole positions: 18 (15 in MotoGP™)
– Fastest laps: 10 (9 in MotoGP™)
– World Championships: MotoGP™ (2021)
– World Championship career:
– 2015: Moto3™ World Championship – 10th overall, Honda, 13 races, 92 points
– 2016: Moto3™ World Championship – 13th overall, KTM, 18 races, 83 points
– 2017: Moto2™ World Championship – 13th overall, Kalex, 18 races, 64 points
– 2018: Moto2™ World Championship – 10th overall, Speed Up, 18 races, 138 points
– 2019: MotoGP™ World Championship – 5th overall, Yamaha, 19 races, 192 points
– 2020: MotoGP™ World Championship – 8th overall, Yamaha, 14 races, 127 points
– 2021: MotoGP™ World Championship – World Champion, Yamaha, 16 races, 267 points
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
For the first time since the Doha GP, Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) is a Moto2™ race winner after an immensely dramatic Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna unfolded. Augusto Fernandez made it an Elf Marc VDS Racing Team 1-2 at Misano, Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) claimed third but the story was with the title race: Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) crashed out from the lead, as a seventh place finish for Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – after a Long Lap Penalty – hands the Australian an 18-point advantage heading to Portimao.
Polesitter Lowes grabbed the holeshot with Canet making a good start to earn P2 ahead of Augusto Fernandez, with Raul Fernandez and Gardner P7 and P12 respectively at the end of the first lap. On Lap 3, Raul Fernandez had made his way up to P4, with Gardner scrapping away in the lower ends of the top 10.
A late lunge from Canet on race leader Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up) at the tight Turn 14 right-hander allowed Lowes to retake the lead, while also gifting Raul Fernandez P3. The latter was then up to P2 on Lap 6, and with Gardner P8, as things stood Raul Fernandez would take the World Championship lead – a long way to go though, of course.
Gardner, seeing his title rival P2, chose to dive up the inside of Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) at Turn 14. Unfortunately for the Thai rider, contact was made and Chantra crashed unhurt – would there be any action against Gardner for the incident? Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez was swarming Lowes’ rear wheel. And by Lap 11 of 25, Lowes, Raul Fernandez and Canet were 1.3s clear of fourth place Navarro, as Augusto Fernandez passed Gardner – the Australian back down to P8.
Huge Moto2™ title drama as Fernandez crashes out of the lead
That spelt bad news for Gardner who was two seconds behind seventh place Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40), and Lap 12 brought more bad news. Raul Fernandez, after a small error from Lowes, was now the race leader – and Race Direction handed the Aussie a Long Lap Penalty.
Then, more unbelievable drama. Heading down into Turn 8, Raul Fernandez lost the front so, so early. The Spaniard was down and out of the race after a rapid crash, thankfully the number 25 was up on his feet. A huge moment in the Moto2™ World Championship chase, as Gardner – after his Long Lap – fell into the clutches of home hero Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46).
It was now Lowes vs Canet for victory. Lowes ran wide at Turn 8 to allow the Spaniard through into the lead, and another rear-end moment for the number 22 allowed Canet to hold a 0.6s advantage with five laps to go. However, with four laps to go, Lowes was back in P1. Augusto Fernandez was up to third after his Long Lap Penalty, the Spaniard passing a brightly coloured Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46). The Italian’s teammate Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 15 with three laps to go, that allowed Gardner to move up to P7.
Up front, no mistake was made in the closing stages by Lowes who took the chequered flag first to win, with Augusto Fernandez producing a stunning comeback ride to pick off Canet on the run to the line – handing MarcVDS their first 1-2 since 2017. Canet was disappointed with P3, but it’s a fourth podium of the season for the Spaniard.
Rookie Vietti rode brilliantly on home soil to bag his best result of the season, fifth place went the way of Navarro. Manzi had a quiet but solid ride to P6 at his home track, the Italian finished nine seconds up the road from Championship leader Gardner. It was a tough afternoon at the office for Gardner, but after Raul Fernandez’ crash, the Aussie extends his lead in the title race to 18 points with just two races to go now.
Sporting a special Gresini livery, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) claimed P8 ahead of rookie Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and 10th place Marcos Ramirez (American Racing). Reigning Moto3™ World Champion Albert Arenas (Aspar Team Moto2) was 0.6s away from a top 10 result in P11, Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) takes home a P12 as Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) rescues some points after his Long Lap Penalty. Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) picked up P14 and P15 at Misano.
Yet more title drama unfolds in Moto2™, with 18 points now separating Gardner and Raul Fernandez heading to Portimao’s rollercoaster. It’ll be match point Gardner, but Raul Fernandez was a winner in Portugal earlier on in the year – a tense meeting awaits.
Top 10:
1. Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team)
2. Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 1.233
3. Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2) + 1.400
4. Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) + 2.554
5. Jorge Navarro (+EGO Speed Up) + 4.243
6. Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP40) + 5.198
7. Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 14.261
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) + 15.868
9. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 18.905
10. Marcos Ramirez (American Racing) + 19.069
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Grazie Vale: SKY VR46 Avintia and SKY Racing Team VR46 have unveiled a sensational special yellow livery that will be raced today at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, one that says thank you to Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ahead of The Doctor’s final MotoGP™ race on home soil.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Courtney Duncan has won her third consecutive FIM Motocross World Championship in Trentino, clinching the title in the first race of the day, and ending the season 31-points clear of runner up Nancy Van De Ven.
Despite hitting the dirt last weekend, fracturing her finger and left with a nasty cut, nothing could stop Duncan in her final charge to victory, riding calculatingly for a championship winning third in the opening race. As carnage unfolded around her and her main competitor Italian Kiara Fontanesi went down after a collision with another rider, the Kiwi superstar rode through the finish flags with enough points to claim her third WMX winner’s gold plate.
Courtney Duncan
“It comes down to how much it means to you, and how much is on the line and how much you want to win it. I was definitely feeling a little anxious but as soon as I got to the line, the helmet went on and I felt pretty controlled out there. I was able to finish third which was good enough to win the championship in the first one, which was pretty crazy. I wasn’t expecting that. This year’s been really tough. We’ve had ups and downs. Along the way it hasn’t been a smooth run. I’ve made the best out of every situation and got as much points as possible. I got to share the victory with my team and Kawasaki and a couple of friends I have over here. It’s been awesome how there’s not so much Covid over here, so we had the whole team and fans watching this weekend. I wish I could say I was going home to New Zealand soon now that the season’s over but it’s difficult to travel at the moment so I might be a Brit for a few more months.”
Duncan now surpasses fellow New Zealand world champion Katherine Oberlin-Brown (nee Prumm) as the country’s most successful female motocross rider. Prumm won the FIM Women’s Motocross World Cup, which was the forerunner to the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship, in 2006 and 2007.
The following year injury hampered Prumm’s title tilt, before a crash in training ended her motocross career in 2009. The only blip on her radar is that Duncan has been unable to secure an MIQ spot to return to New Zealand now that her European race season is finished.
In race one, it was Larissa Papenmeier who grabbed the holeshot. Fontanesi and Duncan were a little further behind on the opening lap. Bad luck struck Fontanesi not long after as she went down hard after getting caught up with another rider.
Papenmeier then led Amandine Verstappen, Nancy Van De Ven, Duncan and Lynn Valk. Van De Ven wasted no time to get into second place, as Fontanesi picked herself up in 32nd after her crash.
Duncan then caught onto the back wheel of Verstappen and passed her for third position on lap four. Meanwhile Van De Ven tried several times to get within striking distance of Papenmeier but could not make it happen as Papenmeier secured her first race victory of the season. Van De Ven finished third, while Duncan crossed the line third as the 2021 WMX Champion.
Fontanesi managed to get back to 15th place, but it was not enough to take the title fight to the final race.
In race two, it was once again Papenmeier with the holeshot as she led Duncan and Fontanesi. Valk started well once again as she was in fourth place, while Van De Ven was ninth on the opening lap.
Moments later we saw a repeat of what happened in race one, as Fontanesi went down once again and was right at the back of the field.
Papenmeier then led Duncan, Valk, Sara Andersen, Van De Ven, Talia O’Hare and Verstappen. But by the second lap we saw a change for the lead as Duncan was able to get around the German.
Van De Ven was also setting herself up to launch an attack on Andersen, as Fontanesi got by Giorgia Montini for 10th.
Duncan then stretched the lead to 4.391 seconds over Papenmeier who continued ahead of Valk and Van De Ven who finally managed to get by Andersen.
Duncan had full control of the race until the chequered flag, to add race win number five of the season as Papenmeier crossed the line second ahead of Van De Ven who was able to get by Valk.
With a race win and a second, Papenmeier won the final round of the series, with Duncan second on the podium, while Van De Ven was third.
In terms of the championship, Duncan secured her third consecutive world title as Nancy Van De Ven finished the 2021 season with the silver medal ahead of Fontanesi who had to settle for bronze.
Nancy Van De Ven – Championship P2
“I put some pressure on myself because of course everyone who’s here wants to win a world title. But when you come close a few times, you want it even more and more because you almost taste it. I came here with a lot of points from second in the championship so It was pretty unexpected that I take the second place. It was unexpected but also a really nice way to end this difficult season. Today my riding felt really good. In the first race I was feeling so confident, but I just could not make a pass in the beginning of the race to lead, and I finished in second position. I had some good battles. In the second race I had a good start going into the first turn. But after I got a little close, had to give away a few positions and had to come a little bit from behind. Then I managed to come back to third position and third on the podium. This was a pretty nice way to end the season as well.”
Kiara Fontanesi – Championship P3
“I am happy about what I could give because I think it’s the best season I’ve had so far. Not in terms of results, but I have been really competitive on the bike. I felt really great, and I think the setup that I have is the best that I have ever had. So, I am really happy about that and about the speed and everything. For sure, I wanted to win but I had to deal with such bad luck this season and I think the bad luck won. It’s something that’s not up to me, so I cannot do anything about it. I just could be happy and proud of the races I could do, I hope not to have this bad luck next season.”
Larissa Papenmeier – Round P1
“For sure. It was good to end the season like that. I was struggling a bit the whole season. I had some body problems. It was difficult for me for sure but really nice to end the season with a win. Also, well deserved to Courtney for the title, she deserved it and I am really happy for her.”
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1 | Papenmeier, Larissa | GER | YAM | 25 | 22 | 47 |
| 2 | Duncan, Courtney | NZL | KAW | 20 | 25 | 45 |
| 3 | Van De Ven, Nancy | NED | YAM | 22 | 20 | 42 |
| 4 | Valk, Lynn | NED | HUS | 16 | 18 | 34 |
| 5 | Verstappen, Amandine | BEL | KAW | 18 | 13 | 31 |
| 6 | Andersen, Sara | DEN | KTM | 13 | 16 | 29 |
| 7 | Guillen, Daniela | ESP | KTM | 14 | 15 | 29 |
| 8 | van der Vlist, Shana | NED | KTM | 15 | 12 | 27 |
| 9 | O’Hare, Tahlia Jade | AUS | HON | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| 10 | Fontanesi, Kiara | ITA | GAS | 6 | 14 | 20 |
| 11 | Montini, Giorgia | ITA | GAS | 9 | 10 | 19 |
| 12 | Dam, Line | DEN | YAM | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| 13 | Seleboe, Mathea | NOR | YAM | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 14 | Jakobsen, Malou | DEN | KTM | 11 | 3 | 14 |
| 15 | Jans-Beken, Britt | NED | KTM | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 16 | Sanchez Nequi, Jana | ESP | YAM | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 17 | Germond, Virginie | SUI | KTM | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 18 | Blasigh, Giorgia | ITA | GAS | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 19 | Astudillo, Jamie | USA | KTM | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 20 | Ribic, Mia | CRO | GAS | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 21 | Keller, Sandra | SUI | KAW | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 22 | Giudici, Giorgia | ITA | HUS | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | Berry, Avrie | USA | HUS | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 24 | Raunkjaer, Laura | DEN | KTM | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25 | Gelissen, Danee | NED | KTM | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | Total |
| 1 | Duncan, C. | NZL | KAW | 268 |
| 2 | Van De Ven, N. | NED | YAM | 237 |
| 3 | Fontanesi, K. | ITA | GAS | 227 |
| 4 | Papenmeier, L. | GER | YAM | 214 |
| 5 | van der Vlist, S. | NED | KTM | 197 |
| 6 | Verstappen, A. | BEL | KAW | 184 |
| 7 | Valk, Lynn | NED | HUS | 174 |
| 8 | Andersen, Sara | DEN | KTM | 159 |
| 9 | Guillen, D. | ESP | KTM | 154 |
| 10 | O’Hare, T. | AUS | HON | 112 |
| 11 | Jakobsen, M. | DEN | KTM | 83 |
| 12 | Seleboe, M. | NOR | YAM | 77 |
| 13 | Galvagno, E. | ITA | YAM | 71 |
| 14 | Jans-Beken, B. | NED | KTM | 70 |
| 15 | Dam, Line | DEN | YAM | 69 |
| 16 | Germond, V. | SUI | KTM | 53 |
| 17 | Astudillo, J. | USA | KTM | 46 |
| 18 | Borchers, Anne | GER | SUZ | 39 |
| 19 | Berry, Avrie | USA | HUS | 37 |
| 20 | Seisdedos, G. | ESP | KTM | 36 |
| 21 | Blasigh, G. | ITA | GAS | 30 |
| 22 | Karlsson, S. | SWE | KAW | 21 |
| 23 | Montini, G. | ITA | GAS | 19 |
| 24 | Keller, Sandra | SUI | KAW | 19 |
| 25 | Sanchez Nequi, J. | ESP | YAM | 17 |
| 26 | Ribic, Mia | CRO | GAS | 8 |
| 27 | Van der Beek, J. | NED | KTM | 7 |
| 28 | Gelissen, D. | NED | KTM | 6 |
| 29 | Kapsamer , E. | AUT | GAS | 3 |
| 30 | Raunkjaer, L. | DEN | KTM | 3 |
| 31 | Giudici, G. | ITA | HUS | 3 |
| 32 | Reitze, Alicia | GER | YAM | 2 |
| 33 | Hoppe, Fiona | GER | HUS | 2 |
| 34 | Lehmann, J. | GER | YAM | 2 |
| 35 | Braam, K. | NED | GAS | 2 |
| 36 | Stoutjesdijk, S. | NED | HUS | 1 |
Source: MCNews.com.au
With the odds stacked against him, Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) came from P14 on the grid to claim a phenomenal Moto3™ victory at the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna, as the title fight continues to Portimao. The Italian’s victory is his fifth and most important of 2021 so far, as Foggia beat Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to the line, with World Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) grabbing a crucial podium on the final lap.
Dominant polesitter Antonelli launched away from the line perfectly as Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) slotted into P2, with Acosta losing a couple of positions from 5th to 7th. Further back, Foggia also slipped a couple of positions from 14th to 16th on Lap 1, but the Italian was back up to P14 at the end of the second lap.
Acosta, who was the only rider to opt for a harder rear tyre, calmly picked his way back up to P5 as the top nine started to break clear. Foggia was 12th on Lap 6, three seconds adrift of P1, but P12 no matter what happens with Acosta would take the title chase to Portimao. A lap later, Foggia was up to P10 and was at the spearhead of the second group, now the Leopard man had 1.3s to bridge to get on terms with the lead pack.
By Lap 10 of 23, Foggia had latched himself onto the back of the leaders, and he was joined by compatriot Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team). Then, on Lap 12, Acosta hit the front for the first time – with Foggia making his way past the other Red Bull KTM Ajo bike of Masia for P6. Acosta’s time at the front didn’t last long, and suddenly, on Lap 13, the title contenders were locked together in P4 and P5. Heading down the back straight, Foggia stormed past Acosta for the first time.
Lap 15 – Foggia led. The pocket rocket had picked his way through the pack expertly and grabbed P1 from Masia, as Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) picked off Acosta for P5 – the World Championship leader now P6, with his Lap 15 time a good half a second slower than Foggia on that hard rear tyre. A top four of Foggia, Masia, Guevara and Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) had formed, Acosta was behind 5th place Nepa and 1.7s down on Foggia with six laps to go.
Turn 8, on Lap 18, saw Guevara slide down the road unhurt – handing Acosta P5. A mistake from Nepa out of the final corner gave Acosta a chance of grabbing P4, which the number 37 took with open arms, but 2.3s was the gap between the title leader and his main rival. Acosta needed teammate Masia to do him a favour. And with three to go, it was Foggia vs Masia for victory – as Nepa passed Acosta again.
And so it was: last lap, Foggia vs Masia. Masia wasn’t close enough through Sector 1 and neither down into Turn 8. At said corner, Acosta grabbed a crucial P3 to get ahead of Binder and Nepa, with Foggia absolutely nailing the last lap. The Italian made no mistake to set his fastest lap of the race on the final lap, an absolutely astonishing ride from the number 7, as Acosta held onto a podium in P3. Wow! 21 points now split Acosta and Foggia heading to Portimao – game on in the title race.
Masia rode brilliantly to pick up his first rostrum since the Italian GP, one place ahead of teammate Acosta, as Red Bull KTM Ajo clinch the Moto3™ Team Championship. Binder lost out on a podium on the final lap, the MotoGP™-bound South African edged out Nepa by less than a tenth – the latter’s P5 is his best finish of the season. Antonelli claimed P6 after leading in the opening exchanges, compatriot Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) recovered to P7 from 19th on the grid.
Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) and Filip Salač (CarXpert PrüstelGP) rounded out the top 10. Ryusei Yamanaka (CarXpert PrüstelGP), the recovering Guevara, Adrian Fernandez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) and Andi Izdihar (Honda Team Asia) pick up the final points on offer at Misano.
Another twist in the tale! Foggia unearths a stellar Sunday ride to take the title to Portimao – a track where earlier in the year, Acosta beat Foggia by 0.051s. 21 points, two riders, one World Championship title – bring on the rollercoaster.
Top 10:
1. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing)
2. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.292
3. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 4.686
4. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 4.797
5. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) + 4.853
6. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) + 5.052
7. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) + 5.335
8. Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 6.642
9. Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing) + 6.736
10. Filip Salac (CarXpert PrüstelGP) + 6.800
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here