Back to the max! Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) returned to the top step of the podium as the Championship leader extended his advantage with a fine victory at Balaton Park. The Hungarian GP in Moto3 has been won by Quiles for two years running, this time without a late battle. Polesitter David Almansa (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) returned to the podium for the first time since his Buriram win with P2, whilst Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed a great comeback from the sixth row to take third.
Blasting off from pole position and grabbing the holeshot, Almansa hit the front on the opening lap ahead of Quiles in scenes we’d seen in the opening two GPs of the year. Behind, chaos at Turn 2 with Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) coming to grief after contact with Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA), which put the #94 into the patch of Bertelle’s teammate Joel Esteban. At Turn 5, more drama as Ruche Moodley (CODE Motorsports) clattered into Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI). Moodley retired whilst Danish rejoined via a trip to the pits.
The Grand Prix settled down with Almansa and Quiles leading the way whilst it was Perrone and teammate Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in third and fourth. Rookie Salmela got into P3 at Turn 5 on Lap 4 and now set off after the two ahead of him. Behind the top four, valiant charges through the field were well underway as Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) came from the sixth row to P5 and P7 respectively. On Lap 7, the first change for the lead as Quiles pounced at Turn 9, whilst the gap back to Salmela was just 0.7s. Lap 9 was a pivotal one as Quiles fired in a 1’45.872 and the fastest lap of the Grand Prix, whilst Almansa was three tenths slower and had made an error at Turn 5.
Into the second half of the GP, Almansa was digging deep to keep on Quiles’ shirt tails and the gap back to those behind had now grown to over three seconds. Perrone was back in third ahead of Salmela, Muñoz and Carpe and up ahead, at the end of Lap 12, Almansa had set the fastest lap but the gap continued to hover at around half a second between them. In the scrap for the final podium place, Carpe was third, a mega fight back from P18 on the grid.
With five laps to go, the gap between Quiles and Almansa had now grown to over a second, the Championship leader demonstrating his strength once again but the fight wasn’t over for third. Carpe may be leading it but teammate Brian Uriarte had now joined the group to make it a 10-wheeler.
Onto the last lap and the #51 had wrestled P4 off his teammate whilst Muñoz was next up. The battling continued until contact on the exit of Turn 11 between Carpe and Muñoz resulted in a multiple rider incident involving Muñoz, Perrone and Uriarte, bringing out the red flag just half a lap from full distance. Muñoz has been taken to local hospital for full checks.
Quiles eased to victory in the end ahead of Almansa whilst Carpe came home third, managing to keep it upright despite the late racing incident. Uriarte was classified in fourth ahead of Salmela who takes a career-best fifth, taking Finland’s best result in Moto3 since Niklas Ajo’s P5 at Mugello in 2014. Adrian Cruces (CIP GreenPower) rode a great ride from his career-best qualifying for a career-best sixth, ahead of Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), Jesus Rios (Rivacold Snipers Team) who was top Honda, Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) who rounded out the top ten.
Moto3 race results from Hungary