Round six of the Moto 3 championship will be at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.
The weather is beautiful. There is a huge crowd for the races. 22 laps scheduled around the Circuit de Catalunya. The Spaniards LOVE motorcycle racing, and many riders come from this area. Luis Salom has pole with Miguel Oliviera and Alex Rins, also on the front row. The times are very close between rows one and eight. So, the first 24 bikes are very close togther. Valentino Rossi won the old 125cc class at Catalunya way back in 1997. Here we go.
At the start, Luis Salom gets a good start, but Alex Rins and Alex Marquez are coming, and here comes Arthur Sissis. Ana Carrasco and Jack Miller are moving up. Alx Rins has the lead. Maverick Vinales is coming, too. Into turn five, the bikes are single file. Efren Vazquez is also coming. Into turn ten, and back through the stadium section, the fans are happy to see a Spaniard leading. Jasper Iwema and Niklas Ajo have both crashed. Game over. Luis Salom battles Maverick Vinales. Niccolo Antonelli is coming. Oh noZ! That crash between Iwema and Ajo was a genuine pileup.
The two of them were slinging their arms at each other as if to say, "hey, dude, why did you wreck me?!" Jack Miller almost got into Efren Vazquez. Don't push too hard. The bikes go three wide on the straight. Alexis Masbou runs fastest lap at a 1:52.6. Marquez is going to go for it if somebody overtakes him. Brad Binder is also reeling in this group. Arthur Sissis is up there, too. Jack Miller is keeping up with this group. Luis Salom is still going for it. Could he lead into turn one? Or, will he sit up and just keep cool for a few laps?
Marquez is a contender in this one, definitely. Salom said in an interview, "you've got to learn to save up for the last few laps of these races." All these guys will be future MotoGP stars in years to come. We'll be hearing these names on the big bikes for sure. Niccolo Antonelli falls. He's had a horrendous season to this point. Rins sets another fast lap. Miller is still nursing a broken collarbone. But, he keeps going. Jakub Kornfeil sets fast lap but gets off in the dust.
Livio Loi also crashes, catching his balance after getting up. Maverick Vinales is still in this battle. The slow motion replays are fascinating to watch. Vazquez passes Rins into turn one, and so, he takes the lead, putting the Mahindra bike out in front. Danny Webb passes Isaac Vinales. Webb has gone from 23rd to tenth and Zulhfammi Khairuddin is his next target. Rins still leads. The Mahindra team looks on. Rins is the race leader. The KTM's have the horsepower advantage for sure. Rins and Miller is the main battle on the course.
Rins is the Spanish Moto 3 champ. Miguel Oliveira is closing up. Twelve laps remain. So, one lap to half distance, as Romano Fenati is going well. Fenati's bike (a Honda), doesn't quite have the torque of the other bikes. The Mahindra's and KTM's are at an advantage in the engine department. Will the KTM's eat up the Honda? These bikes are really getting close together. This is like superspeedway stock car racing, but on motorcycles. Alexis Masbou is running well and so is Efren Vazquez as Luis Salom continues to lead. Salom is second in points, just four points behind Maverick Vinales. Vazquez is hanging on well as Luis Salom sets his personal best lap time.
Have these guys been watching video of Valentino Rossi in 125cc action in 1997? Maybe. Jakub Kornfeil retires from the race, after having a fall. Vinales is now leading, running a 1:52.7 lap, slowing the pace down from 1:51s earlier. Livio Loi is being checked in the medical center. Lets hope he'll be OK. Jonas Folger isn't racing today, and might not next time either. He's got a broken wrist from a Motocross crash. Jack Miller is tucked behind Miguel Oliviera. There are a bunch of riders in mid field and towards the back, who are very competitive.
Livio Loi is fine. But, he has a whopper headache. Arthur Sissis and Alexis Masbou are both getting racy now. Brad Binder, Danny Webb, Romano Fenati, and others, are in this fight to the finish. Luis Salom still leads. Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales are also back there. These guys are the top three in points. Five laps to go. New fast lap of 1:52.3 for Salom. There is a massive bunch of bikes around. Alessandro Tonucci is another, and he had a podium at last years Japanese GP. Salom and Vazquez are both going for it. Three laps left now. Salom wants back-to-back wins after winning in Italy two weeks ago.
Salom, Vinales, and Marquez ALL run fastest laps at 1:51.6. Brad Binder is coming. Zulhfammi Khairuddin is dropping back just a bit. Just two laps remain as Vinales resets fast lap at 1:51.675. Five bikes fan out into turn one and ALL make it through! The top three have all won Moto 3 races in 2013. So, no different winners yet this year. Salom runs another 1:51. This is going to be close as it's the last lap. Into turn five, will Salom hold on? Yes. Into eight and nine, Salom still has the lead into the stadium section. Salom is gapping Rins and Vinales.
He knows he's going to win. Rins wants it. Vinales says, "that's it. I give up." Two corners to go. Who will dwin? It's going to be close. Luis Salom will win, and take the lead in the championship.
#39 Luis Salom ESP KTM
The next Moto 3 race is in Holland. It's the Dutch TT at Assen, coming up in two weeks or so. Stay tuned for full details on that race.
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