VOL. 54 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 15, 2017 P83
Moto3
The first race threw up the same
old winner, and a brand-new hero.
Victory (seventh of the year)
went to the almost immaculate
runaway title leader Joan Mir
(Leopard Honda); and it was in
proper runaway style, once he'd
got to the front.
The new hero was first-timer
Jaume Masia, a 16-year-old
Spaniard riding the Platinum Bay
KTM in place of the injured Dar-
ren Binder.
Masia not only led a huge pur-
suit pack, holding second on laps
16 and 17, but by then had already
set fastest lap, a new record.
Masia eventually finished
ninth after one little mistake, still
in the thick of a pack of highly
experienced Moto3 riders, with
second to 13th covered by only
just over two seconds.
Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA KTM)
had been on pole for a second
straight race; Mir started from
10th, but made short work of
the rest, taking the lead on lap
six. The pack stayed close, but
after half distance he started to
ease away, the gap more than a
second on lap 14, and stretching
at one point to four.
It was a brawl for second, with
one loser John McPhee (BTT
Honda), who had been with the
front men until he crashed out
on lap 15.
Enea Bastianini (EG Honda)
had led the pursuit early on, but
a tiny slip dropped him out of the
top ten, and with the contest so
close it was all he could do to
Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Kalex)
completed the top ten.
Corsi, Nagashima, Axel Pons
and brother Edgar all got ahead
of Remy Gardner, who took the
last point.
Marquez finally claimed fast-
est lap on the 22nd.
A massive crash at the first
corner involved nine riders and
eliminated all but two of them.
Twelfth-placed Nagashima was
won; and Iker Lecuona in last.
But Simeon, Marini, Cortese,
Baldassarri, Vierge, Locatelli and
Quartararo were all out.
Morbidelli opened his points
lead over Luthi again to 26, with
207 to 181. Then Marquez (153),
Oliveira (133) and Bagnaia (100).
Morbidelli (21) bounced back
to take an important victory for
his title charge.
