Here are the highlights of the Moto 3 race from Portugal.
Romano Fenati leads the world championship, with momentum coming off his win in Spain. Sandro Cortesi has pole position. Fenati has a ten point lead. The bikes are on their warmup laps. These riders will hopefully be MotoGP stars in the future.
This race will be 23 laps. At the start, Sandro Cortesi leads with Maverick Vinales in second. Cortesi is a German even though his name is Italian. Vinales battles Cortesi and passes him. Miguel Oliviera is into the top three. Zulfhami Khairuddin is fourth. Further down the order is Hector Faubel. Oliviera passes Vinales. Luis Salom tried to pass but couldn't. Romano Fenati is closing on lap two. This race is 24 laps. Sandro Cortesi wants another win. Luis Salom is coming up. Miguel Oliviera and Cortese battle, but, Oliviera has an issue. He shuts the motor down briefly in the Parabolica.
He's got the bike running again, though. Fenati is still moving up. Efrin Vasquez is another notable rider at the sharp end. Ditto for Hector Barbera. Oliviera seems to be out of the race. Maverick Vinales goes to the inside of Cortese. But, Oliviera's race is run. He pulls his bike into pit lane. Game over. Fenati blows by Faubel. Luis Salom passes Maverick Vinales. Cortese fends off Vinales. Khairuddin is up to fifth place, moving in on Danny Kent. Vinales passes Cortese. There are four riders up at the sharp end who could win this thing. But, it's long from over.
Arthur Sissis has cracked the top ten. So, the Aussie rider is going well. Vinales let Cortese by for some reason coming onto the next lap (lap seven). Luis Salom wants by Cortese, too. Zulhfami Khairuddin is having a good race. Maverick Vinales is leading, trying to break away from Cortese and the rest of the pack. Some of these guys have had experience in the old 125cc class. Luis Salom is waiting for an opportunity to pass by Vinales. This is quite the competitive motorcycle race.
Khairuddin is closing on Salom. He could become the first Malaysian rider to finish on a MotoGP podium. The race is coming up on halfway. Danny Kent and Niccolo Antonelli pass Efren Vazquez of Spain. Vinales and Cortese are the two battling for a win more than likely. The race is half over. Cortese pulls very closes to Vinales. Salom is falling back slightly. Khairuddin is third, but, he can't quite get close enough to the top two yet. Alex Rins, Brad Binder, Arthur Sissis and Alexis Masbou all battle for the back part of the top ten. Rins passes Binder for ninth. Louis Rossi is also in this group.
Just ten laps to go in the race now. Cortese runs fastest lap at 1:47.5. There are some good two-bike battles throughout the top five. Vinales remains the leader. Danny Kent and Romano Fenati battle as well into the Parabolica Interior. Louis Salom battle Zulhfami Khairuddin. Romano Fenati goes down in the gravel. He's had two crashes in this race and is out after winning in Jerez last time out. You win some, you lose some. Louis Rossi is also down. Could these incidents be related? Maybe.
Cortese is still trying to run down the lead. Khairuddin and Salom battle. Vinales is holding on well with just eight laps left. Cortese sets another fastest lap somewhere in the 1:47 range. His KTM is running well. Just six laps remain. There is a three way battle between Binder, Rins, Sissis and others. Alex Marques is also hanging on. Salom is dropping behind Khairuddin. Cortesi ran fast lap at 1:47.354 and passes Maverick Vinales. It's a two man race for the finish. Cortese is 3/10 up on Vinales. This is one of those "it's not over 'til it's over", deals. The two are messing with each other's minds.
Vinales won his first race in Moto 3 at Le Mans last year which is ironically, the next race on the schedule. Cortesi is now in the lead and wants to get away from Vinales. Four laps to go. Vinales is sizing up Cortese for the last lap. Khairuddin wants by Salom. Zuhlfami Khairuddin can't play anymore games. Binder and Rins scrap for seventh with Masbou and Faubel behind. Jakub Kornfeil has languished in 13th. Vinales sails by Cortese. Two laps to go. Salom hounds Khairuddin. Can Khairuddin become the first Malaysian on the podium? Just one lap left. This is for all the marbles. Salom passes Khairuddin. He tried to, anyway. Khairuddin has the advantage.
Vinales and Cortese still scrap. Vinales is ahead. Can Cortesi get by the Parabolica Interior? Cortese tries on the inside and tries forcing him wide. No. Cortese is still the leader. There's lapped bikes in the wya. Vinales doesn't get the run. The lapped riders arei right in the way. Sandro Cortese wins! Vinales almost could use a lapped bike as a pick. But, it didn't work.
#11 Sandro Cortese GER KTM
The next race is the French Grand Prix at the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans in about two weeks.
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