It was the closest Moto3 finish, with a packed top ten going into the final lap. But in the end, it was Máximo Quiles who was victorious in the Moto3 race at the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya. It was a weekend full of epic rookie performances and even greater comebacks. Read on for all the Moto3 race results and weekend action.
Rookie Danish Takes the Top in FP1
It was an overcast start to the Catalan GP weekend for Moto3, with riders trickling out onto the track. All appeared calm for the first portion of Free Practice 1 until there was an entanglement at Turn 12. Joel Esteban got too close on the inside of Leo Rammerstorfer.
Zen Mitani came down at Turn 10, but only suffered some scuffing on his leathers. Hakim Danish was unstoppable at the top of the board until Brian Uriarte and Adrián Fernández found pace. They gave the rookie a decent challenge, but Danish managed to come back to lead out the session. The #13 set a time attack of 1:47.718.
There were a few major crashes that finished the second half of the session. The first came from Cormac Buchanan, who held on into the gravel at Turn 5 before bailing just before the fence barrier. Matteo Bertelle crashed at Turn 2, ending his session prematurely. With a minute left, Jesús Ríos remounted after coming down between Turns 11 and 12. And then, on the checkered flag, Scott Ogden was rolling his left shoulder after coming down on it at Turn 5.
Danish Continues Friday Domination
As soon as the track opened for riders, there was a bit of strategy at play as teams staggered riders and kept an eye on the weather radar. What matters most in a Practice session is not finishing first, but making it into the Top 14 to avoid falling into Q1 on Saturday. Álvaro Carpe fell victim to the infamous Turn 5, costing him an advancing spot.
The rest of the session was relatively uneventful, with Danish and David Almansa at the top end of the leaderboard. With no threat of imminent rain, it was all or nothing in the final ten minutes. Last laps came in, with Danish clocking the first 1:46s lap of the weekend. A few battles were going on around the circuit, with Rico Salmela later handed a long-lap penalty for riding slow online and disrupting other riders in the huge traffic build-up.
The main championship contenders, however, kept their noses clean to advance into Q2. Mitani ended his session in the gravel at Turn 4, crashing for the second time that day. The Japanese rider was already in P22, with no hope of improving. But the yellow flags did cost David Muñoz his lap time.
Fernández Sets the Pace on Saturday Morning
It was a much sunnier start for Saturday, as riders came out for the 30-minute Saturday morning session. After a relatively quiet Friday, it seemed like the Le Mans Grand Prix winner, Máximo Quiles, had finally found some pace. The #28 finished the session in P4 with little incident. The same can’t be said for Carpe, taking his second crash of the weekend at high speed into Turn 2.
Track limits seemed to be an issue for riders, having their lap times deleted. Turn 2 picked up another victim in Almansa just after going P1. A lap later, Valentín Perrone dumped it hard into Turn 1. Quiles held on to a bucking and bouncing Aspar Team machine through Turn 5. In the end, it was Fernández who set the fastest lap of the session with a 1:47.412.
Perrone Secures Pole Position in Moto3 Qualifying
It was a jam-packed Q1 session as the 15 minutes counted down. Only four could proceed to Q2, and there were some big contenders on the board. Veda Pratama was first flying to the top with a 1:47.687, but was quickly beaten by Carpe by three tenths of a second. Muñoz had his first lap time deleted due to track limits. But the #64 came back with another to secure an advancing spot. Guido Pini set the fastest lap time of the session, a 1:47.285. That left the last spot for Casey O’Gorman to move from Q1 to Q2.
Another 15 minutes on the clock with one last shot for riders at the front row. Danish was followed closely around the Catalunya circuit by Fernández. The Spaniard picked up a tow from the Malaysian rider, coming ahead of him by a tenth of a second. Uriarte quickly beat that, and it appeared that it was going to be a battle of the rookies versus the Moto3 veterans.
Almansa had come up to the top with a time attack of 1:47.141, but there was still one more run to make. With less than five minutes to go, there were only a couple laps at most to try for pole position. Uriarte was on point, setting the first lap in the 1:46s of the day. It was almost an all-rookie front row as Marco Morelli posted a lap of 1:46.927, 21 thousandths of a second ahead of Rios.
With red sectors lighting up for multiple riders, the front row was decided after the checkered flag. Uriarte was first to get on provisional pole, before being pushed down by Muñoz. But it was Perrone who swooped in to take the position, beating Muñoz’s time by five thousandths of a second.
Quiles Comes Back to Take the Victory
There was a bit of housekeeping at the top of race day. Salmela had the long lap penalty to serve, and Casey O’Gorman received a 12-place grid penalty for riding extremely slowly during Q1. Almost everyone went to the right as the lights went out, but Quiles went straight to the left on his own. The move worked at first, making up a few spots while polesitter Perrone fell off a podium spot.
Uriarte battled with LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP riders Almansa and Muñoz, while the rookies pushed down Quiles. Pini was given a long lap penalty for causing contact, though the #94 was already at the back of the grid. At the front, Rios was making moves to slot himself in as a podium contender in the leading group of nine.
Nicola Carraro exited the Catalan GP at Turn 10, crashing as he tried to hold onto P22. At the front, riders were now bringing the heat against each other. It was several laps of divebombs, bumping and barging, and thrilling racing. O’Gorman, who had been relegated back to P24, managed to get himself back up into P10. A small half-second gap began to form between the front three, but it was still a tight leading group.
With five laps remaining, Quiles made his way back up to the front, as had Carpe. But both were flirting with the track limits. Late drama on the penultimate lap as Rios barrel-rolled out of the race. In the last lap, riders were swapping and changing at every corner. But it was Quiles who held on to take his third consecutive Moto3 race victory.