Perfection: Fenati completes unbeaten weekend with win

If you looked up the word ‘perfection' in the dictionary, Romano Fenati’s (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) weekend at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix would be the definition. The Italian topped every session at Silverstone and made no mistake on Sunday to claim a classy 13th Grand Prix victory, his 29th podium in the World Championship. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) secured a second rostrum of the season as Dennis Foggia’s (Leopard Racing) P3 handed Italy a podium lockout in the lightweight class.

Perfection from Fenati

Polesitter Fenati got away well and kept Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) at bay at Turn 1 to grab the lead. Antonelli got a great getaway from P5 on the grid and latched himself onto the back of compatriot Fenati. Rivacold Snipers Team’s Andrea Migno did the same as we saw an Italian 1-2-3-4 lead the way on the opening couple of laps, Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride) occupying P4.

In the title fight, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) made solid progress from outside the top 20. Both were getting their elbows out – with each other – and were hovering just outside the top 10, but the more they fought, the more time they lost to riders ahead.

The top three – Fenati, Antonelli and Migno – were over two seconds clear of Foggia in P4, before Migno suffered an issue with his Honda bike at the beginning of Lap 6. This left Fenati and Antonelli three seconds clear of a seven-rider scrap for the final podium spot, with the third group – led by Acosta – a further 3.2s down the road.

Heading into the last handful of laps, no one was catching Fenati and Antonelli baring a disaster. The battle for P3 was raging between Foggia, Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing), Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) and Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Acosta and Garcia embroiled in a huge battle for 10th.

With two laps to go, Fenati started to strut his stuff and pull the pin. The gap was up to a second and Antonelli was now slipping into the grasps of Foggia and Guevara – the latter duo had broken clear in the battle for the podium. Heading onto the last lap, Fenati was 1.1s clear of Antonelli, with Foggia and Guevara a second behind Antonelli. Guevera struck on Foggia at Stowe corner to grab P3, before Foggia returned the favour a couple of corners later.

Fenati crossed the line to emerge victorious for the first time in 2021, with Antonelli holding onto P2. Foggia pipped reigning Moto3™ Junior World Champion Guevara by 0.047s as the rookie picked up a very commendable P4, his best result of the season.

Acosta extends title lead over Garcia

After being detached from Foggia and Guevara in the closing stages, Suzuki won the fight for P5 and beat Masia and Binder by less than a tenth, as Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Rossi notched up a lonely P8 and P9 respectively.

In the big battle for 10th, Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) came out on top. John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) dropped to last on the opening lap after something went wrong in the opening sector, but the British rider made a good recovery to cross the line in P11. However, after exceeding track limits on the last lap, McPhee was demoted one position, which meant Acosta was promoted to P11. It’s not the podium fight Acosta would have been looking for – it’s his first time finishing outside the top 10 this season – but it’s vital points gained in the title race.

Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Filip Salac (CarXpert PrüstelGP) and Rodrigo completed the points, with Garcia taking P16 after losing out on the last lap in the fight for the points. No points at Silverstone means the Spaniard is now 46 points behind Acosta heading to Aragon.

And in two weeks, that’s exactly where we’ll be: MotorLand Aragon. Acosta extends his advantage in the overall standings, but the British GP belongs to Fenati.

Top 10:
1. Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team)
2. Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy) + 1.679
3. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 2.107
4. Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar) + 2.154
5. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 7.475
6. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 7.541
7. Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) + 7.559
8. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) + 14.523
9. Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride) + 14.541
10. Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) + 20.503

FULL RESULTS!