Here are the highlights of the Moto 3 race from Philip Island.
Danny Webb is a guest commentator. He had an engine issue with his Mahindra bike. Maverick Vinales missed the Malaysia round, but he's back for Australia. He has apologized to everyone for missing the Malaysia round. 23 laps are scheduled. On the pole will be Sandro Cortese (the World Champion in Moto 3). He won the 125cc race last year. Arthur Sissis is running in his home race. The bikes set off on their formation lap.
At the start, Zulhfammi Khairuddin leads and a few riders get shuffled down the order. Maverick Vinales and Sandro Cortese both drop down the order as the bikes go through Lukey Heights and MG corner. Zulhfammi Khairuddin leads down Gardner straight into Doohan corner. Nikolas Ajo is up to seventh. Jack Miller is starting to move up, too. The bikes enter the Honda hairpin and Sandro Cortese fends off the challenge from Miguel Oliviera. Luis Salom has also made a good start in this race.
Arthur Sissis passes Nikolas Ajo as a bike clips a seagull. What a mess! Alessandro Tonucci is real fast as Ricardo Moretti pits. Into Siberia corner, Maverick Vinales moves up. Zulhfammi Khairuddin still wants a win in his 50th start. Roberto Moncayo and Arthur Sissis are running well. Jonas Folger is right behind Khairuddin now. Sissis tries to pass Oliviera for sixth out of the Southern Loop. Sissis defends his spot into the Honda hairpin. Cortese is right where he wants to be and pounce when it's right.
There's a long way to go yet. Five riders will be penalized for jumping the start. Alberto Moncayo, Jonas Folger, Louis Rossi, and Luis Salom, are all going to be sent to the sin bin. Jack Miller will be, too. Louis Rossi has gone off the road in the Honda hairpin. That might just negate his penalty. Maybe. Sissis and Cortese are going to be in a battle. Louis Rossi has served his penalty. But the others still need to do it. Luis Salom is serving his penalty with 17 laps to go. Salom resumes in the race as Sandro Cortese takes over the lead with Miguel Oliviera. Jack Miller serves his ride through penalty, too.
This is Miller's home race. He'll be gutted. But he needs to get it done. Jonas Folger has fallen behind significantly. Folger also has to serve his penalty. He must come in to avoid being black flagged. Cortese and Oliviera are pulling away. Danny Kent is also back there. Alex Rins has come from sixteenth to fourth. He was last year's Spanish Moto 3 champ. The bikes comes over Lukey Heights and Niklas Ajo slides his bike off into the gravel trap and he fortunately stays on the bike! But, man, did he have to wrestle it! That incident was in turn eleven.
Ajo slowed up some of the riders. Oliviera is ahead of Alex Rins by two seconds. Brad Binder will be penalized. He needs to serve it before he's black flagged. Miller still needs to serve his penalty. He does. Maverick Vinales is up to third. Miguel Oliviera is right behind Sandro Cortese. This is the lead battle. Fourteen laps remain. Sissis takes over third into the Southern Loop. He tucks in behind Alessandro Tonucci. Sissis is forced wide and Vinales passes as Tonucci gets right onto the ripple strips separating the track and the grass. Nicolas Ajo has another fall. Cortese is pulling away, but, Oliviera is coming.
Miguel Oliviera wants his first Moto 3 win and didn't ride at Philip Island last year. Alex Rins and Romano Fenati battle back in the pack. Maverick Vinales is catching up and so is Jonas Folger. Folger runs 18th. This happens when a rider is penalized. They lose on track time, and track position. There's a yellow flag. Someone has crashed. It's probably Nikolas Ajo. He's been taken to the medical center for a checkup. Arthur Sissis could get on the podium. But he must pass Rins and Vinales in order to do it. Ten laps now remain.
Zulhfammi Khairuddin is now tenth. Salom, Folger, Rossi, and Moncayo have all been penalized. More battling for position in the last ten laps. Arthur Sissis is now third. He's behind the lead duo of Cortese and Oliviera. Maverick Vinales has crashed! He's back on the bike now. But, he crashed in the Siberia corner. The bike is back in pit lane and will have the bodywork changed. However, it's game over for Vinales. Vinales' bike has had the ECU ripped off the engine. Whoa. Romano Fenati passes Arthur Sissis.
Miguel Oliviera makes a move on Sandro Cortese for the lead. Fenati and Tonucci are up to third and fourth. Arthur Sissis is down to fifth. But he's still in contention. Luis Salom languishes in 17th place. Oliviera is gapping Cortese slightly. Can he close up? Danny Kent is beginning to come into the picture, slightly, as Sissis makes a pass into fifth again. Cortese is going really well, but, Zulhfammi Khairuddin is having issues with his KTM. He tried to pull off the road but ditched the bike and fell, hard, in the process. There's a huge battle as Cortese and Oliviera continue to scrap for the win.
Cortese stretches his lead. Sissis is third as Fenati passes Danny Kent into Doohan corner and Stoner corner. Will the Aussie get on the podium? He'll be the first on the podium in Moto 3/125cc since Casey Stoner in 2004. It looks like Cortese will win the race. The battle remains for the remaining spots. There are four bikes in a battle as Danny Kent passes for third. Danny Kent holds on into Siberia over Sissis. Into Hayshed, and Lukey Hights, into MG corner. There's swapping all over the place. Sandro Cortese wins it! It's his fifth win. Oliviera is second and Sissis gets on the podium!
#11 Sandro Cortese GER KTM
One race remains in Moto 3 as well as the other classes for the season. It's in Valencia, Spain, in less than two weeks.
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