Here are the highlights of the Moto 3 race from the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar.
On pole, for the first race of this new, 2013 Moto 3 season is This race has been around since 2004. People wouldn't come to see it at first. But now, that's all changed. We've seen MotoGP and Moto 2. Now, it's time for Moto 3. This class is open now, because of Sandro Cortese moving up to Moto 2. 18 laps scheduled. Everyone is very excited to start the season.
Luis Salom has pole for this race. We are ready to go. Maverick Vinales is second. He won this race last year of course. Many riders in this class last year, are back to give it another shot in 2013. Eric Granado's bike is having issues. He'll have to start from pit lane. He has moved down from Moto 2 to Moto 3, and is only 17 years old. On at least one side of the track, traction will be at a premium. So, the riders will have to be aware of the conditions.
At the start, it's Jonas Folger getting a good jump, but Luis Salom leads. Here comes Alex Rins. He's second. Folger drops to fourth place. Maverick Vinales and Arthur Sissis are up there, too. Sissis is up to fifth from tenth. Alex Marquez is also in this. Miguel Oliveira wants by Arthur Sissis. Alan Techer fell back at the start of the race being on the dirty side of the road. Alex Rins takes over the lead and Efren Vazquez is moving up.
Last year, of course, Maverick Vinales checked out. Who will be the leader this year? Don't take too many risks. Search for grip. Oh. Somebody falls. Who is it? It could be Niccolo Antonelli. It is. He's out of the race. Alex Rins, Maverick Vinales, and Jonas Folger are at the sharp end right now. There's still a long way to go. Three of the bikes are KTM factory machines, while another, is a Kalex chassis with a KTM engine. Brad Binder moves up. But Romano Fenati is nowhere near where he was in this race last year. He's languishing in 19th.
Maverick Vinales wants to pull away. Luis Salom nearly left the door open for him. But, not quite. Alex Marquez runs fast lap. But, he's a bit further behind everyone else. Niklas Ajo and Jakub Kornfeil round out the top ten. Alex Marquez is ahead of Miguel Oliveira, Alex Rins, and Arthur Sissis. You don't want to be leading out of turn sixteen. Alan Techer has crashed. His race is run. Sissis passes Oliviera for sixth place.
The weather has been iffy for most of the weekend, and it's affected the Moto 3 class more than Moto 2 or MotoGP. Vinales runs a 2:07.8 and Rins runs a 2:07.1. The conditions are getting better. Jonas Folger looks to be passing Maverick Vinales who might be nursing an injury from a testing crash. Rins and Salom are up there. Salom runs a 2:06.8. Miguel Oliveira and Arthur Sissis are battling as Zulhfammi Khairuddin is also moving up, with twelve laps to go. Jakub Kornfeil is under pressure. Jonas Folger passes Vinales. The gap is dropping berween Vinales and Folger.
Alex Marquez is still there. Five laps into thee race. Luis Salom is testing Alex Rins. Folger runs fast lap at 2:06.658. Salom slides past Rins. Pablo Nieto (team manager for Maverick Vinales), says Vinales is riding hurt, in his fingers. But, he seems to be holding his own out on the track right now. Vinales has been taking pain relievers for his sore hands. Sissis and Oliviera are still batting. Danny Webb is by himself in thirteenth. Jack Miller is passed by Alexis Masbou. Luis Salom is being shadowed by Alex Rins. Oliviera passes Sissis for sixth.
Every bike, except for Oliviera, is a KTM. Everyone in this group, except for Alex Rins, has won a Grand Prix. Be prepared to go into the last corner not in the lead, and still give it everything you've got. Alex Marquez is reeling in Jonas Folger, who ran really well in the latter part of last season. The top speed of a Moto 3 bike is 230 kilometers an hour (about 144 miles an hour). Nine laps remain now. Jonas Folger is the quickest rider in the top five at 2:07.176. Jack Miller, Jasper Iwema, Ana Carasco, and others, battle. Carasco is a Moto 3 rookie, and she is team mate to Maverick Vinales.
She ran Spanish Moto 3 last year. Jakub Kornfeil runs wide. Five riders are in contention to win this. Alex Marquez moves by Maverick Vinales for third. Marquez is matching the pace of the leaders. Right now, all five of these riders could win this race. Arthur Sissis is now seventh. Brad Binder and Danny Webb are battling. So is Efren Vazquez. Danny Kent might also be in this scrap. Vazquez wants by Niklas Ajo. Jonas Folger is losing ground to Maverick Vinales, on lap 12. Alex Rins still leads.
The harder compound Dunlop tire might wear out quicker than the softer compound, for strategy purposes. Zulfammi Khairuddin is being hounded by Arthur Sissis. Alex Marquez is now second. He is Marc Marquez's younger brother. Arthur Sissis makes a pass and Zulhfammi Khairuddin is also pushing hard. Jonas Folger tries sticking to Maverick Vinales like glue. Will he get there? Alex Marquez blocks Luis Salom. Last year, Alex Marquez was a wildcard rider. This year, he's full time in Moto 3.
Alex Rins continues to lead. But, Salon and Marquez are battling. It seems Salom has passed the two blue and orange bikes. Folger and Vinales are back in this battle another time. Five laps remain. Miguel Oliviera needs to keep an eye on Zulfahmmi Khairuddin as this race nears it's conclusion. Alex Marquez runs through on the inside, passing team mate Alex Rins. Luis Salom and Maverick Vinales are in this thing now, too. It's every rider for himself. Plans have been tossed out the window. The Spanish riders have come to the fore in this event.
Alex Rins continues to lead. Could he win? Luis Salom won two races last year. Maverick Vinales won five. Alex Marquez is pushing and the Khairuddin and Oliviera battle is simmering. Marquez has passed Alex Rins. Alex Marquez is still in the lead here. He's the brother of Marc Marquez who is now in MotoGP. Rins is reeling Marquez in. Two laps remain as their four wide! Who gets it? Vinales! Rins pushes wide. Marquez leads over Vinales, Rins, Salom, and Folger.
Here comes Rins. A lap and a half to go. This is a wild race. We're still in this scrap, ladies and gentleman. Here comes Rins. Marquez is pushing. Rins is back in the lead. Salom is third. Vinales is still in there. These four are within five hundredths of a second! Who is going to win? Is this how the final lap will go? Here comes Salom! Vinales and Rins drop back. Vinales wants a good spot to slingshot on the last lap. Luis Salom is trying to move ahead. It could be enough to get there. But, the other four riders will have something to say.
Folger is dropping back slightly. Half a lap to go. Go, now! Who does it? Rins won't let Marquez by. Luis Salom opens a gap. He's going to win. Vinales is still leading rins. Jonas Folger is not done yet. However, as they come down the straight, it's Luis Salom. Rins gets secon! Wow! What a race. Niklas Ajo beats Efren Vazquez for tenth. Romano Fenati finishes a lowly fifteenth.
#39 Luis Salom ESP KTM
The next Moto 3 race is in the U.S. It is the first of at least two races they'll have in the States, along with MotoGP and Moto 2, at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, coming up in less than two weeks.
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