Moto3 Catalunya: Ramirez takes maiden win after last lap thriller

Marcos Ramirez came out on top of another chaotic dash to the line to claim his first ever Moto3 victory in the lightweight Catalunya Grand Prix.

He is the seventh different winner this season and twelfth different winner in a row after hitting the front for Leopard Racing when Kaito Toba, who had broken the lap record to climb back to the front, crashed out as the race came to a close at turn ten.

The Spaniard held off a final lunge from his fellow countryman Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team KTM ), who tried a move up the inside of his Honda on the way to the home straight before deciding to settle for second, so it was Ramirez who took the victory by just 0.119s.

Canet came out of the race a big winner in terms of the championship, extending his lead to 23 points with a total of 103, after all of his main rivals crashed out over the course of the grand prix.

Third went to rookie Celestino Vietti, his second podium trip after also finishing third in Jerez for Sky Racing Team VR46, an incredible achievement after starting down in 21st on the grid.

That left Alonso Lopez sat in the garage, visibly disappointed with his fourth place finish as he lost out in the tight run to the line, the Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider had however equalled his best ever finish after leading the way in the latter stages of the race.

Dennis Foggia was one of a handful of riders to be handed a twelve place penalty ahead of the race for irresponsible riding in FP3, but the Sky rider fought through to fifth by the close.

Ai Ogura had qualified in second but lost ten places on the opening lap. The Honda Team Asia rider was patient in the pack and took advantage of the errors and falls around him in the closing stages to rise to sixth by the time he reached the chequered flag.

Romano Fenati had a similar story to his race, out of contention for much of the race he rose to seventh for VNE Snipers.

Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) crossed the line eighth, just ahead of wildcard Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) in ninth while Jakub Kornfeil had enough in the tank for a top ten finish for Redox PruestelGP.

Niccolo Antonelli finished an eventful grand prix down in eleventh after running wide in the closing stages for SIC58 Squadra Corse. The second wildcard entry in Barcelona; Carlos Tatay (Fundacion Andreas Perez 77); also made his way into the points on his debut, using his recent experience at the track after winning in Catalunya in the Spanish championship just last week, he finished twelfth.

John McPhee was riding in fourth before hitting a bobble in the track after being forced wide in the fallout from Toba's crash which resulted in being sent skywards - amazingly the Petronas Sprinta rider clung on with his legs flying in the air, his incredible save gave him a 13th place finish.

Tom Booth-Amos (CIP Green Power) was riding with a dislocated collarbone and had altered his riding style, using his legs more to accommodate his injury - the changes paid off - picking up his first world championship points in 14th despite being awarded a three second penalty for exceeding track limits after the race.

The final point went to his team-mate Darryn Binder after a fiery performance which saw him shoot from the front to the back of the lead group for the entire race distance.
   
Tatsuki Suzuki ended a crash filled weekend in the gravel again, not lasting past the first lap after being clipped by Albert Arenas.

An incredibly unfortunate Lorenzo Dalla Porta was leading the race when his bike came to a halt coming out of turn thirteen, he sensibly moved out of the way to avoid a huge pile-up behind.

Tony Arbolino made it a rare two breakdowns in one weekend as he too was forced to pull off track from the lead group with eleven laps remaining.

Lap five saw Can Oncu skittle into the group of riders in front of him, causing a multiple pile-up in the gravel, with two more riders following off track from behind. Arenas, Vincente Perez, Sergio Garcia, Filip Salac, Raul Fernandez were all caught up in the incident. Perez rejoined for 18th after a further trip around the penalty loop.

Andrea Migno only lasted one lap longer, while Jaume Masia was tagged by Binder forcing him off with eight laps remaining. Kazuki Masaki suffered a similar fate soon after, he was behind Ramirez and Antonelli as they sat up from their own errors, but he did not survive his wobble after slight contact.

Makar Yurchenko also failed to go the distance, while just before Toba’s tumble pole man Gabriel Rodrigo came in hot and exited the lead group.