Results and summary of a tense Moto3 race at Sepang:
Miguel Oliveira has kept his title hopes alive by taking his fifth win of the season at Sepang, after controlling the race at the front of a small group. Oliveira's win was exactly what he needed to keep Kent from taking the title, the Englishman ending the race in 7th, two places short of the spot he needed to clinch the title.
Oliveira got the drop from the start, hammering into Turn 1 in the lead, and pushing to try to make a gap. Kent, by contrast, got a terrible start, losing places on the run to the line, then getting duffed up in battle in the two extremely tight first two corners. A group formed at the front of the race, Oliveira always right at the front of it, containing Pecco Bagnaia, Romano Fenati, Jorge Navarro, Jakub Kornfeil, John McPhee, Hiroki Ono, Efren Vazquez and Brad Binder. Enea Bastianini lost touch with the front, while Kent struggled battling for 14th place.
A fierce battle developed in the front group, which would last all the way to the line. Oliveira was always involved, leading for a lot of the race, and inside the top three when he got passed down the front or back straight. The battle gave Danny Kent the time to collect his wits and ease his way cautiously forward, eventually landing on the tail of the group after getting some empty track and the chance to set his own pace.
Once he reached the group, he was unwittingly helped by his Leopard Racing teammmates, Ono and Vazquez touching and going down together. That created a gap behind Kent, leaving him free to concentrate on sticking with the group. More attrition came later, Bagnaia sliding out at Turn 15 after challenging all race long for the lead.
While Kent sat patiently on the back of the group, his eyes clearly on 5th spot, the place he needed if he was to be crowned champion, the battle intensified at the front. With Bagnaia gone, Binder and Navarro came on strong, though Oliveira was still clearly in control. On the final lap, Oliveira lost the lead to his teammate in the first part of the lap, but that proved to be the right place to be. As they headed down the long back straight, Oliveira whipped out of the slipstream to take the lead into the final corner, and held on across the line. Binder finished in 2nd, while Jorge Navarro took his third podium of the year in 3rd.
Danny Kent's cautiousness worked against him in the final lap. Trying to make sure he did not get taken out by the group of seven battling for the win, he entered the last lap in 5th position, but he got bumped down to 6th at Turn 9, the lost another place in the battle at the final corner. His lead over Oliveira is now 24 points. He needs to finish in 14th at Valencia to be sure of the crown.
Results
Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | 44 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM | 40'33.277 |
2 | 41 | Brad Binder | KTM | 0.089 |
3 | 9 | Jorge Navarro | Honda | 0.273 |
4 | 23 | Niccolò Antonelli | Honda | 0.305 |
5 | 5 | Romano Fenati | KTM | 0.416 |
6 | 84 | Jakub Kornfeil | KTM | 0.530 |
7 | 52 | Danny Kent | Honda | 0.590 |
8 | 33 | Enea Bastianini | Honda | 4.004 |
9 | 10 | Alexis Masbou | Honda | 6.990 |
10 | 17 | John Mcphee | Honda | 10.030 |
11 | 95 | Jules Danilo | Honda | 16.128 |
12 | 88 | Jorge Martin | Mahindra | 18.995 |
13 | 29 | Stefano Manzi | Mahindra | 18.999 |
14 | 32 | Isaac Viñales | KTM | 19.129 |
15 | 65 | Philipp Oettl | KTM | 19.153 |
16 | 48 | Lorenzo Dalla Porta | Husqvarna | 19.592 |
17 | 21 | Francesco Bagnaia | Mahindra | 32.053 |
18 | 6 | Maria Herrera | Husqvarna | 32.882 |
19 | 11 | Livio Loi | Honda | 32.924 |
20 | 58 | Juanfran Guevara | Mahindra | 33.307 |
21 | 24 | Tatsuki Suzuki | Mahindra | 34.453 |
22 | 2 | Remy Gardner | Mahindra | 55.705 |
23 | 22 | Ana Carrasco | KTM | 57.562 |
24 | 16 | Andrea Migno | KTM | +1'46.290 |
25 | 91 | Gabriel Rodrigo | KTM | 1 Lap |
Not Classified | ||||
98 | Karel Hanika | KTM | 12 Laps | |
96 | Manuel Pagliani | Mahindra | 12 Laps | |
7 | Efren Vazquez | Honda | 13 Laps | |
76 | Hiroki Ono | Honda | 13 Laps | |
63 | Zulfahmi Khairuddin | KTM | 13 Laps | |
40 | Darryn Binder | Mahindra | 16 Laps |
Comments
Kent
Unless Danny gets his mojo back, I think he's headed for the biggest choke in history. Miguel Oliveira looming ominously.
In reply to Kent by waxen
Big gap
23 points in one race is still a big gap. The only way he can lose is if Oliveira wins and he scores less than 2 points. He'll definitely have to play it safe.
I have nothing against Kent, but I'd really like to see Oliveira win just because it's been a crazy comeback charge.
@waxed, that might be a
@waxed, that might be a trifle gloomy. He's still sitting in a very commanding position. To win the title, he needs to finish 14th or better at the last race, presuming Oliveira wins. I'd like to be in that position... But yes, he is showing signs of maturity, and there's no place for that in Moto3...
In reply to @waxed, that might be a by kneedragon1962
Gotta say
" he is showing signs of maturity, and there's no place for that in Moto3..."
Mede me smile, quote of the day :)
In reply to Gotta say by anteater
He should already have the championship
Is it a sign of maturity, or a sign of insecurity. He should have put the championship away before this race. Once it was in reach, he started riding differently. The thing should be over, and a "mature" rider would have already sealed the deal.
Hell yeah, Miguel Oliveira!
Fantastic ride yet again.
That's really all I wanted to say. :)
WHY
can we post on MotoGP about MM and VR
In reply to WHY by yogi bear
To give everyone a chance to think
Today, I have seen a torrent of abuse and arguments on social media and other websites, against Rossi, against Marquez, against Lorenzo. Opening the posts up to comments when tempers are still running so high will just degenerate into a lot of arguments. I will post my round up later on, and comments will be opened on that. By then, I hope everyone will have cooled down, and a proper argument can be had.
MotoMatters.com is a community, and members of a community treat each other with respect. I think that by tomorrow, tempers will have calmed enough for people who disagree with each other to at least treat differing opinions with respect.
In reply to To give everyone a chance to think by David Emmett
kudos!
totally agree, even though I'd like to see VR46 win the 10th.... I don't see these events as Black/White... but gray, lots of gray :)
In reply to To give everyone a chance to think by David Emmett
The right call
Complicated issue, tribal stuff.
Now, the Moto 3 championship has now become a lot more interesting than was...
David Emmet
tnx for your comment. your right about that....
In reply to David Emmet by yogi bear
Don't do it
Don't open up the comments on this Post Race Review. I believe the camps on either side are just so entrenched that its going to spiral out of control.
I am throughly looking forward to reading your Post Race Review though. Of all the sites I frequent you are level headed enough that you get accused from all sides for not supporting rider 'X' enough, or supporting rider 'Y' too much.
Go Bradical!
Great 1-2 result for the Ajo team.
In reply to Go Bradical! by Irongut
Not just "either side"
There is a veritable a welter of fanbois from all the camps just itching to stick the knives and pins in.......
Some of us who have been following GP racing for decades (50+ years for me) would just prefer to view events objectively, as favourites always tend to be somewhat ephemeral.
I am, however, constantly amazed at how who you support can distort what you see.
Personally, I think Vale was hit with a wet tram ticket by Race Direction......no loss of points, no suspension. Bizarre.
In the end, the slanderous statements made pre-race by Vale clearly had an impact on how Marquez raced, and I cannot for the life of me understand how adding fuel to that fire helped his title chase. Just plain dumb strategy from a bloke once considered the master tactician on and off track.
In reply to Not just "either side" by Rabid_Canine
Naughty
What did our host just say?
Quartararo
Emmm sorry if I'm slow on this, where's Fabio Quartararo? The last time I heard (read) the news about him is that she will switch to Leopard Racing riding KTM.
In reply to Quartararo by ants24
Still out injured
Still out injured.
He tried racing in Japan and Australia and entered the practice sessions, but pulled out of the race each time due to his ankle injury. After warm-up in Phillip Island they made the decision for him to fly back to Barcelona for recovery instead of going to Malaysia.
I suspect he'll be back for Valencia, but probably not 100% fit.
Choke, No Choke
What a cracking race! I was really happy to see Oliveira win. He really knows how to lead from the front. It's amazing how the floodgates can open for riders after they finally get their first win.
I really followed Kent closely through the race. Particularly in the early laps I really thought the epic choke was on. However, as the race progressed, he really impressed me (I'm sure he feels honoured). The timidness in the early laps became cool control as the race wore on. Clearly he had everything to lose, especially with the chaos that happens in Moto3 and he did a terrific job to keep out of trouble. It will be a travesty if he doesn't take the title from here.
Controlling comments is chasing a tail.
Comment controlling is not something that's necessary.
The single biggest incident in 10 years of MotoGP and your readership is forced to look elsewhere to create and enjoy discussion on the matter...
In reply to Controlling comments is chasing a tail. by deeds
Controlling comments
I have lost more readers through discussions that got out of hand than I have gained readers by not moderating comments. As I keep saying repeatedly, it's a big internet out there, and there are plenty of places to discuss this. I want to sustain a sense of community spirit, and to do that, on this incident, I am going to need time, something I don't have right now. Readers will get a chance to comment, but only once everyone has calmed down a little.
I am doing what I believe is in the best long term interests of the site. I may be wrong, and if I am, readers will leave. I will have no one to blame but myself.
In reply to Controlling comments by David Emmett
You're not wrong
We all know where the sites are that insults can be chucked around at riders and each-others 'fans'. Very easy to do it and I'm sure the sites enjoy the click-bait for the advertisers.
I only read and support here because the quality of journalism is very high (not only David but also the excellent Mat Oxley plus Jared's race reports on WSBK), but because there is the reduced prospect of insults being hurled, which are painless but at best tiresome and at worst unpleasant.
Where there are less insults and general headbanging, there is more room for people to contribute in an interesting way, and a good number of the comments are well worth reading.
I may / may not entirely agree with David in the end but his insight certainly will be intelligent, valuable, and by the time it gets uploaded, very well considered ;-)
In reply to You're not wrong by swiftnick
2nd that
2nd that
In reply to You're not wrong by swiftnick
The other sites
I visited them about 12 hours ago - after I got a chance to watch the recorded race. The comments are just a hundred voices screaming into the void and no one listening. I'd like to have a discussion about what I saw, but there's no discussing with them.
Views of this weekend by Kenny Roberts Sr, kevin schwantz, etc
I'm interested in the views of King Kenny, Kevin Schwantz, and Max Biaggi - on Moto3 title chase and the MotoGP race/crash?
Are the MotoGP announcers making a mountain out of a mole hill on Danny Kents inability to nail down the Moto3 title?
what are the thoughts of these three world champions on the racing incident between Rossi and Marc?
Supporters and Commenters
David, how about only site supporters being able to comment on this career/image/championship-threatening event/action?
Quite a good initial filtering/income generating option perhaps? (It will be massive)
In reply to Supporters and Commenters by motomann
Good idea
I think that's quite a good idea. I am not sure how easy it is to implement though. I will look into it.
In reply to Good idea by David Emmett
Contributor?
What do you have to do to become recognized as a site contributor?
In reply to Contributor? by marc1111
Take out a subscription
Take out a subscription
In reply to Supporters and Commenters by motomann
I used to be a supporter on another motorcycle site....
paid annual fees and was happy to do so. Then one day the guy who owned the site sold it to a media company and within a month the site became awful and not what we the members had paid for
Thats the primary reason I'n not a site supporter here - had my fingers burned before and in no rush to go through it again. For the record if I hadn't been through a bad experience I would have been a site supporter some time ago.
There is occasional snipes on here from site supporter towards non site supporters (nothing to do with Mr Emmett) but I can't find any evidence that comments left by site supporters are more considered, more witty or more intelligent than those left by non site supporters.
At least it's going to be over...
Well the wait for a British GP champion has been going in since 1977 so what's another fortnight? If Danny Kent does triumph in the end he'll be glad that KTM didn't upgrade their bike sooner and that Miguel didn't start putting it together until halfway through the season.
It's hard to wrap up Moto3 though as it's a series of piranhas that ruthlessly exploit any weakness or hesitation, but wouldn't have it any other way.
Giacomo Agostinis view on Rossi and Marquez incident
This is not to throw any disparaging remarks on Rossi or Marq. I'm interested in the opinions of those who have been in that position before, and what they have to say about the subject.
This is from IlSussidiario and translated by google....
In short. Rossi was nervous about the championship and should have kept his comments about Marquez to himself but talk to Marq after the world championships.
That the contact with Marq was unintentional and that only the two pilots know what really happened.