This is the last of the season finale races for the FIM for 2012. It is Moto 3 from the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain.
Luis Salom and Maverick Vinales will decide second place in the championship behind Maverick Vinales. Jonas Folger has a problem. The bike did start, but, he'll be at the back of the field, starting from pit lane. Luis Salom, Miguel Oliveira, and Jonas Folger are on the front row. But, as mentioned, Folger might or might not start. Jonas Folger is having issues with the starter motor, and it actually does. The bikes roll off on their warmup lap. Folger is still having issues with the bike. There's something wrong in the electrical system.
Folger's crew scrambles to get the bike on the track. They won't have time. Here we go! At the start, Sandro Cortese gets behind Luis Salom in this 25 lap race. Folger joins the race as does Danny Webb. Louis Rossi is moving forward. He won in the wet at Le Mans earlier in the year. Maverick Vinales is languishing down the order. Jack Miller is picking up spots. He's a good rider in the wet. Zulhfammi Khairuddin is also at the sharp end right now.
Luis Salom, Miguel Oliveira, Alex Marquez and other riders are now running in the top five. Alex Marquez is Marc Marquez's younger brother. The track is damp now. There's no rain falling. But there's also no wind drying the track out. Marquez runs fast lap at 1:54.7 early on. Folger is lapping in the same time bracket as the top runners. The time gap is between 1:54 and 1:56 as Alex Marquez wants to pass Miguel Oliviera. Alex Marquez is challenging for position over Oliveira. These two are right behind Luis Salom. They run three wide into turn one as Alex Marquez takes second.
Alex Marquez takes the lead from Miguel Oliveira and Luis Salom. Marquez gets fast lap. He is the Spanish Moto 3 champion. Jack Miller has made it to eleventh spot. Maverick Vinales is running well, but, Alex Marquez falls down. He tried too hard turning into the corner. He's not happy. He pushed it too hard into the corner and slid off the bike. Adrian Martin is the quickest rider on the track at the moment. Sandro Cortese seems to be taking it easy. Danny Kent is fastest. Louis Rossi leads. He and Danny Kent both go to Moto 2 for Tech 3 Yamaha in 2013.
Brad Binder is running well now, too. Zulhfammi Khairuddin is moving up from his seventeenth starting spot, too. Alex Marquez is out of the race. Luigi Morciano is another race retirement as Jonas Folger is moving up the order. Folger is running the pace of the leaders, but, he's still 18 seconds behind, with Arthur Sissis following him. Louis Rossi runs wide, but still leads. Sandro Cortese is now third. Adrian Martin may have crashed. Seven of 24 laps are complete. Hector Faubel runs fast lap at 1:52.4. Could he win? Maybe. Sandro Cortese takes the lead as Jonas Folger retires from the race. He'll be back in 2013.
Maverick Vinales continues to run eleventh and he's not satisfied with the wet conditions. Jack Miller seeems to be doing well, even as he was a wildcard rider in the 2011 season. Zulhfammi Khairuddin is being patient, running consistently. Danny Kent is going well as Brad Binder sets fast lap at 1:51.7. Miguel Oliviera wants by Brad Binder. There may be a slightly dry line out there. But, it's hard to tell. The bulk of the track is wet here at Ricardo Tormo. Luis Salom runs wide and Maverick Vinales is coming, fast. They'll battle for second in the points behind Sandro Cortese (the world champ).
Does Luis Salom have issues with the bike? Jakub Kornfeil has run fast lap with thirteen remaining. Niklas Ajo passes Maverick Vinales. He's dropping spots. Brad Binder is hanging on well. There are a bunch of riders involved in one battle. At least a half a dozen. Efren Vazquez runs wide. Brad Binder will be back in Moto 3 next year. He'll be team mates with Danny Webb. Vazquez takes out Oliveira! They'll be team mates next year! Wow! That might not be good, although, they did apologize to each other immediately. Another question is, will Maverick Vinales be a Moto 2 rider next year?
There are seven bikes in contention to win. Cortese, Rossi, Binder, Faubel, Kent, Miller, and Khairuddin. Khairuddin runs fast lap at a 1:51.1. Will Jack Miller keep his sixth spot? Danny Kent lowers fast lap time to 1:50.7. Seven laps remain in the Moto 3 season. Jakub Kornfeil is up to eighth. Miller battles Khairuddin. Cortese is trying to gap the field. Brad Binder is right up behind Danny Kent. The gap is coming down. Zulhfammi Khairuddin is going for it. But, Jack Miller has a fall. He has a fast fall into a curve and is fortunately, just fine.
He'd set his personal best lap, trying hard to keep up with Hector Faubel, and couldn't do it. Zulhfammi Khairuddin could be on the podium. Brad Binder, Louis Rossi, and Hector Faubel are still in contention for top placings. Alex Rins and Romano Fenati are languishing, and Danny Kent would beat those two for Rookie of the Year honors. Danny Kent would move to Moto 2 next year, obviously. Khairuddin runs fastest lap at 1:50 flat. Sandro Cortese will likely get his third consecutive win. Cortese sets his personal best lap. He'll be a Moto 2 rider next year for sure. Rain begins to come down.
Brad Binder could get a podium and be prepared for testing for the new season. Binder could be the first South African on a MotoGP podium since 1980. The last riders to accomplish that both did so in the 1980 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Both riders won their respective classes that day. Jon Ekerold in the 350cc class, and Kork Ballington in the 250cc class.
Kent, Binder, and Faubel are running in the 1:50s. Maverick Vinales will finish eighth. Will he get full points? Niklas Ajo and Luis Salom battle. A lap left in the season. This is it for 2012. Hector Faubel squeezes by Brad Binder. One lap to go. Sandro Cortese and Danny Kent lead. Zulhfammi Khairuddin nips Faubel. Will he get on the podium? Faubel messes up in Doohan corner. Who will get the last podium place?
Sandro Cortese is going to win this race more than likely. Kent is closing on Cortese. Can he pass? Can he make a move to win? Brad Binder wants by Danny Kent. He attacks and it doesn't work. Into the final right hander on the track, who will win? Kent goes through on Cortese! He does it! Danny Kent wins Valencia! What a finish to the Moto 3 season!
#52 Danny Kent GBR KTM
So, the Moto 3 season for 2012 is in the books as is most motorcycle racing. This blog will continue in the future. Stay tuned for sporadic updates through the off season and more action to come in 2013. So long for now.
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