Last lap stunner sees Garcia beat Foggia to victory

As last laps go, that was pretty special from Sergio Garcia (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team) as the polesitter goes from P3 to P1 to claim a stunning victory at the Gran Premio Michelin® de la República Argentina. Garcia passed both second place finisher Dennis Foggia and his Leopard Racing teammate Tatsuki Suzuki on the last lap to pick up his first win of the season, as Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) completed the podium despite a Long Lap Penalty.  

A dramatic encounter goes to the wire

It was a perfect getaway from pole position for Garcia who comfortably led into Turn 1, but it was a slower start for teammate Guevara on the outside of the front row. However, despite dropping to P5 on the opening lap, Guevara expertly picked his way back through the pecking order and on Lap 2 at Turn 5, the Spaniard took the lead from Garcia. The two GASGAS stars immediately started stretching clear as second on the grid Sasaki took his Long Lap Penalty.

Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 3 and had climbed up to P3 from outside the top 10, but with plenty of squabbling going on, the GASGAS leading duo were nearly one second up the road. With 14 laps to go, Masia had bridged the gap and had Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) in tow – the top 19 down to Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team), in fact, were split by just four seconds.

A leading quintet then formed consisting of Guevara, Garcia, Masia, Migno and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI), but drama then unfolded for race leader Guevara. At Turn 3 with 12 laps to go, the sophomore’s machine said no more and through no fault of his own, Guevara was out of the race. Meanwhile, Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) had made his way up to P5 and on Lap 11 of 21, the Italian snapped up a two-for-one deal at Turn 13 – Moreira and Masia were dispatched, and Foggia was now P3.

Turn 13 was then the talking point again. Trying to go through a door that wasn’t fully open, Migno collided with Masia and both were down with just over five laps to go. This left Garcia leading Leopard duo Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki by half a second, with Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Sasaki in the top five.

With two to go, Garcia was still leading but Foggia was closing in. Half a second became 0.2s in a couple of laps and at Turn 12, Foggia led. Last lap time. It was Foggia from Garcia, Suzuki, Sasaki and Rossi in the top five, as we saw Suzuki grab P2 of Garcia at Turn 5. Turn 9 then saw Garcia produce a brave and beautiful move back on Suzuki, before the penultimate corner reared its head.

Garcia chucked his GASGAS machine up the inside of Foggia’s Honda. There was slight contact, but it was clean. Garcia made a daring last lap move stick on his title rival Foggia to claim victory in Argentina, his first of the year, as Foggia had to settle for P2. Sasaki, recovering from a Long Lap Penalty, earned a great P3.

The points finishers

Rossi benefitted from a penalty for Suzuki to pick up P4, with Suzuki dropping to P5 after exceeding track limits on the final lap. Moreira’s P6 is yet more proof that Brazilian have a new gem to cheer on in the World Championship, the rookie finishes ahead of 2021 Moto3™ Junior World Champion Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – all those guys were less than a second from victory. Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP), Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) and his teammate Joel Kelso rounded out the top 10.

Elia Bartolini (QJMotor Avintia Racing Team) and Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) were P11 and P12 respectively, the duo finished ahead of Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo Adrian Fernandez and Deniz Öncü – both of those guys had to take Long Lap Penalties. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) was the final point scorer in P15.

That’s three winners in the first three races in Moto3™, but it’s Garcia who takes the Championship lead heading to Austin.

Top 10:
1. Sergio Garcia (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team)
2. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) + 0.146
3. Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) + 0.375
4. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) + 0.507
5. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) + 0.484*
6. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) + 0.587
7. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.715
8. Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) + 2.032
9. Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) + 3.098
10. Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power) + 3.397