Moto3: As the saying goes, fortune favours the brave – and that was exactly the case in a classic Moto3™ encounter at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan as David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) earned a dominant win in tricky conditions.
Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) strung together a fantastic late race charge to finish in P2 and therefore head to Indonesia with a chance at clinching the title, as Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) fended off Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in the final sector to collect his eighth rostrum of the year.
Rueda got the launch he would have been hoping for from pole, and so did Perrone from P2, as Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) pocketed an early P3 on home soil before Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA), Muñoz, Quiles and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) picked their way through the order.
Turn 5, Lap 2 – the first change for the lead. Kelso it was who shoved his way past Rueda, before Muñoz followed the Aussie through. A lap later, Quiles and Perrone demoted Rueda to P5, as David Almansa (Leopard Racing) set the fastest lap of the race to latch onto the back of the lead group having started from the back of the grid.
Spots of rain were in the air to add a little more dose of spice to this Moto3 scrap, as Quiles – on Lap 4 – grabbed the race lead baton for the first time, but P1 was changing a lot in the opening half of the race. Kelso’s victory charge became a little trickier at Turn 10 when he and Almansa had a slight bit of contact, which saw the #66 drop to outside the top 10.
By Lap 8, Muñoz was a second clear of Furusato as the rain spots got a little heavier in some parts of the circuit. The group was split now and our top two in the championship, Rueda and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), were P10 and P9, with Perrone, Quiles and Almansa operating in the top five.
Then, disappointment for the home crowd as Furusato highsided at Turn 2 on Lap 9 out of second place, and after initially getting his Honda going, Furusato crashed again. This time on the exit of Turn 5 in the tunnel – thankfully, he was all ok.
With six laps to go, Muñoz led Perrone by 1.5s, with the Argentine 0.9s clear of Quiles. Rueda was P6 behind the two Leopard Hondas of Almansa and Adrian Fernandez, with Ryusei Yamanaka and Piqueras in tow.
Then, drama. Piqueras was down at Turn 10, but such was the rapidness of the remount, the rider second in the title race was still in P11 – but the #36 was losing more points to Rueda, who was now P5 in a Leopard sandwich.
With two to go, Almansa’s brilliant ride ended with a crash as Rueda entered the podium battle with Quiles and Perrone. Muñoz was 1.9s up the road and had a third win of the season in his hands, but only two of Quiles, Rueda and Perrone would join him on the Motegi rostrum. Rueda snatched P2 at Turn 7 and defended well down the hill into Turn 11, as Perrone launched a late attack on Quiles through Turn 13. Quiles held the outside line though, which became the inside at Turn 14, and that meant the rookie battle for P3 was won by Quiles as Muñoz strode to a phenomenal win.
Rounding out the top five was Fernandez, who finished ahead of home hero Yamanaka in P6. Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) had a double Long Lap penalty, but that didn’t stop the Italian from collecting a P7 in Japan, with Kelso forced to settle for P8. Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) completed the top 10, with Piqueras – despite the crash – finishing in P11 as his title hopes begin to fade.
Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), the returning Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP – MTA), Carpe and Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse) were the final point scorers. So onto Indonesia we go, and it’s a big weekend ahead for Rueda. Will the #99 clinch the Moto3 crown in Mandalika?
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