Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) left the field in the dust at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, taking his ninth win in Moto3™ by more than 28 seconds by the flag. The Italian, who took his first win in similar style at Jerez in 2012, put in a masterclass in the rain to claw back some points in the Championship over Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) – the man who came second. The podium was completed by front row starter and second home hero home Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), with only 15 finishers, all of whom scored points in a race of attrition.
It was the man starting from the front, Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), who took early control, but by 19 laps to go Fenati hit the front ahead of Fenati and Mir – and didn’t look back. ‘Diggia’ suffered a moment and dropped back slightly from the podium battle, before Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0) took a tumble – the first of two.
There was another wobble at the front soon after, as Martin saved a huge moment at Turn 6 – soon followed by Mir, bringing the two rivals back together on track in second and third. But it didn’t remain that way for too long, with Martin then sadly sliding out at Turn 1 – rider ok.
That left Mir the man on the chase, but the Majorcan hadn’t got the pace to stay with the Italian out front and the gap kept steadily increasing. But the Championship leader stayed calm, keeping it all together as the battle for the final podium place reignited behind him.
Di Giannantonio was the man in third, but Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) was lighting up the timesheets. The Spaniard caught the Italian and passed him, before ‘Diggia’ hit back. But Canet wouldn’t be deterred and pushed on – then losing out later as he crashed out of contention chasing the Italian.
Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) came through from P11 on the grid to eventually cross the line in a lonely fourth, an earlier podium contender but then just dropping off the battle for third. Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) likewise crossed the line lonely, likewise taking some solid points and avoiding mistakes to complete the top five.
Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took a good haul of points home in sixth, just ahead of Jakub Kornfeil (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) – a result made even more remarkable by the fact that both riders had crashed and remounted, slicing back through the field once back on board. Albert Arenas (Aspar Mahindra Moto3) took his first ever top ten result behind the duo as he crossed the line in eighth, despite not riding in the only other wet session of the weekend: Sunday Warm Up.
Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) – winner in Mugello – got more points on home turf as he came ninth, ahead of replacement rider at Platinum Bay Real Estate Jaume Masia in another impressive performance from the Spaniard. Manuel Pagliani (CIP) was P11, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) in twelfth after a big save. Wildcard Alex Fabbri (Minimoto Portomaggiore) took points and stayed out of trouble in thirteenth in a good day’s work for the Italian.
Compatriot Enea Bastianini crossed the line in P14 to collect two points on home turf despite two crashes, and reigning Moto3™ Junior World Champion Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Aspar Mahindra Moto3) rounded out both the finishers and the points scorers in P15, also despite a crash.
Some wet weather superstars before failing to finish were Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and teammate Tony Arbolino, and Japanese rookie Ayumu Sasaki was in sixth before a fall at Turn 6 ended the SIC Racing Team rider’s charge. John McPhee (British Talent Team) also fell foul of conditions, as well as Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo). And a late crash for Patrik Pulkinnen (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) provided some drama, as the Finn managed to make it to the line but outside the time limit to be classified, having been a lap down on leader Romano Fenati but on for P13.
The paddock now moves to MotorLand Aragon and home turf for Mir, with the points gap now cut by a small margin but the Championship leader still very much in control as Fenati tries to charge back - with nine wins in the class, now the equal most successful Moto3™ rider in terms of wins.