In a dramatic and tightly-packed Moto3 race, David Muñoz brought it home to win the German GP. The Liqui Moly rider dedicated his win to his late friend and former Moto2 rider Borja Gómez, as did second and third-place podium finishers Máximo Quiles and José Antonio Rueda. There were outstanding performances and extreme upsets throughout the grid. Read on to find out how it all played out.
Sunny and Blue Skies At the Start
There were some new faces on the front row after yesterday’s qualifying session. Scott Ogden, David Almansa, and Guido Pini were lined up and ready to speed down toward Turn 1 at a much drier Sachsenring circuit. Joel Kelso, sitting in thirteenth-place, was managing some bruising and discomfort after his crash post-session yesterday. With a clean warm-up lap completed, the riders returned to the grid to await lights out.
High Traffic on a Tight Track
Muñoz flew off at the start and immediately veered right, hoping for an advantage going into the first sector. With more than twenty riders on small bikes trying to turn into the same corner, it can get too close for comfort very quickly. Álvaro Carpe learned the hard way as he made contact, pushing Pini and Almansa down the grid. Ogden managed to stay in a podium position behind Muñoz, while Cormac Buchanan and Quiles benefited from the shake-up in the first lap.
Tumbling Down and Shuffling Begins
Eddie O’Shea came off on the same turn as Leonardo Abruzzo but in separate incidents, ending their weekend at the German GP. Nicola Carararo served his long-lap carried over from the Assen race, but crashed not long after. Carpe incurred a long-lap penalty for his involvement in the first-lap incident, which he served as quickly as possible.
While all this was happening at the back of the pack, the lead group of nearly fifteen riders continued to swap and change positions with more than half the race to go. Adrián Fernández crashed out in his third consecutive race. The Leopard rider made contact with Rueda, losing a mudguard that made the next right corner too hard to control and sent him off into the gravel.
Riders Under Pressure
Tatchakorn Buasri decided that he could do more in his race efforts, retiring on the halfway mark. Ryusei Yamanaka desperately held onto first place after moving up fifteen spots. But he was under immense pressure from the pack behind. The second Leopard rider, Almansa, finished his unfortunate Sunday in the gravel. Taiyo Furusato came into contact with Carpe, his mistakes costing him several places and undoing all his good work earlier in the race.
Five Laps to Go and It’s Anyone’s Race
As is the usual case in Moto3, the lead group still consisted of numerous riders. Any one of them could be on a podium, but it would all depend on who had the better pace. Yamanka suddenly went wide into the gravel at Turn 1, taking the scenic route to come back onto the track. Ogden was not so lucky, crashing into the same turn and ending what could have been the British rider’s first win.
Risky overtakes and divebombs started as we entered the final lap. It paid off for some, but for Furusato, it was a disaster as he came off in the final sector. He limped off with the assistance of medical staff. Muñoz, Quiles, and Rueda came very close to taking each other out, but it was the Liqui Moly #64 rider who did the home team proud. On his victory lap, Muñoz carried the flag with Gómez’s name and number, honouring his friend who lost his life recently.
The Top Fifteen
Next week, Moto3 racing will take place one more time before the summer break at the Automotodrom Brno in Czechia. At this point, the Moto3 championship is Rueda’s to lose. But the second half of the season could bring potential threats to Rueda’s lead from his Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Álvaro Carpe. But if Ángel Piqueras, Joel Kelso, Quiles, and Muñoz can convert qualifying positions into serious race performance, we may see a reshuffle of positions in the Moto3 standings. We can only watch next weekend to find out what happens.