Moto3 Misano: Suzuki takes emotional win in crash filled race

Tatsuki Suzuki converted his maiden pole to a first win in a frantic Moto3 San Marino Grand Prix at his team’s home track.

The SIC58 Squadra Corse rider brought home an emotionally charged victory for the Paulo Simoncelli run team at the track which bares his sons name - World Circuit Simoncelli - after leading for much of the race.

The Japanese rider remained unchallenged for the lead until the final six laps, where he proved he was just as capable of challenging in the group of seven in for a shout of the win as he was sitting at the front.

Once back ahead on the penultimate lap he benefitted from the tussle behind and was able to pull out some highly defensive moves to become the first Japanese rider to win a lightweight race in Misano.

Behind him fellow Honda rider John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) had kept out of danger as Andrea Migno seemed to clip Ai Ogura, taking the pair out.

The British rider had started 14th on the grid and worked hard to pull back into contention before finding himself perfectly placed for a final lunge for victory, but it wasn’t to be finishing just 0.128s behind Suzuki as the pair crossed the line.

Third went to Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers). Having claimed a front row start the Italian remained involved in the action for the duration, with a series of tough moves keeping him in podium contention to complete an all Honda rostrum.

Jaume Masia was unlucky to miss out, he entered into a final lap battle with Lorenzo Dalla Porta, which seemed to take the pair out of the running before he rallied for fourth for WWR Racing. The Spaniard was the top KTM finisher.

The Leopard rider had crossed the line directly after Masia for fifth, but after a warning earlier in the race his final time exceeding track limits was punished with a three second penalty after the race, demoting him to eighth.

Dalla Porta still leads the championship standings, gaining eight points to lead Aron Canet ( Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) by 22 after the Spanish rider endured a race plagued with electrical issues, with three retirements to the pits trying to figure out the issue - it is his first finish out of the points this season.

That demotion elevated Dennis Foggia to fifth after leading the chasing group of riders over the line for Sky Racing Team VR46, and moved Gresini’s Gabriel Rodrigo up to sixth on his return from injury - an upturn in fortunes after qualifying, where he saw his best laps cancelled after setting the fastest lap of the weekend in practice.

Marcos Ramirez (Leopard); winner in Silverstone; also gained, moving up to seventh after the race.

Ninth went to a spirited ride from Filip Salac (Redox PruestelGP) racing well before gaining from all the spills for an extra advantage for his best ever finish. He was also the best of the rookie riders.

Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) took a top ten finish after Stefano Nepa was also given a time penalty, though the Reale Avintia rider still managed his best result to date in eleventh.

Jakub Kornfeil crossed the line in twelfth, well ahead of Migno (WWR) who remounted for 13th.

Ricardo Rossi (Gresini) took 14th, Wildcard Elia Bartolini (Sky Junior Team VR46) 15th while Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo) replacing his brother Can who picked up an injury in FP1, was the only other finisher in 16th.

The low grip conditions played their part in the race, which was peppered with falls from beginning to end.

Early errors took out Makar Yurchenko, Sergio Garcia, Kaito Toba and Ayumu Sasaki on the very first lap.

Alonso Lopez didn’t last much longer, with his bike hitting him on the head as they spun through the gravel at turn two after a highside.

Tom Booth-Amos, who had been struggling with a fever all weekend, Celestino Vietti and Niccolo Antonelli, who tangled on track, and Albert Arenas who was flicked off while running fourth all exited with 20 laps remaining.

Darryn Binder, wildcard Meikon Kawakami, Kazuki Masaki and Ogura all also failed to go the distance.

Romano Fenati missed the race after he picked up a scaphoid fracture in his qualifying crash.