Here are the highlights of the Moto 3 race from Silverstone.
This is round eleven of Moto 3. It's a 17 lap race. Maverick Vinales starts from pole. He won here at Silverstone last year, and has to win if he has any hope of getting back into contention for the championship. Two British wildcard riders are entered. Kyle Ride and Wayne Ryan.
We're ready for a start. At the start, Jack Miller gets a good jump. Luis Salom is leading. But, Zulfahmmi Khairuddin has to start from pit lane. Alex Marquez runs ahead of Jack Miller. Jakub Kornfeil had a good start. The bikes draft their way down Hangar straight. Maverick Vinales is trying to keep Luis Salom honest into Vale. Alex Marquez tries Jonas Folger on the inside as Alan Techer and Juanfran Guevara both crash, and so does Wayne Ryan, the wildcard.
Folger runs wide. Jack Miller passes for fifth. Maverick Vinales and Luis Salom move to the front. Marquez and Rins are both pushing. The bikes run down Hangar straight and into Stowe. Alex Rins wants by Alex Marquez, and makes the pass. In replay, Techer goes down, and Guevara and Ryan had nowhere to go. Jack Miller fends of Miguel Oliviera, Romano Fenati, and others. Fifteen laps left in this race. Maverick Vinales needs to win this race as Alex Rins sets fast lap. Not sure of the time.
They run through Maggots/Becketts. Miller loses out to Oliviera. Alex Rins came into this race with two straight wins. Francesco Bagnaia, pits. It's game over for Bagnaia as Rins and Vinals tussle for position. Luis Salom waits for his chance to pass. He's third, and wants to win this race. He hasn't won since Le Mans in France, back in May. The harder rear tire and softer front, are being used. Both are medium compounds.
Maybe, this race is beginning to settle down, just a little bit. Alexis Masbou is running well, having started from the front row for this one. Jonas Folger has Masbou and Jack Miller around him. Efren Vazquez and Arthur Sissis are running well. John McPhee is in the last points paying spot. This is settling into the usual pattern for a Moto 3 event. Luis Salom runs a 2:14.413. Sandro Cortese set the fast lap record last year in the first season for Moto 3. Alex Marquez is running real well right now, but needs to improve his braking.
Rins runs wide and this opens the door for Vinales to pull away. Can Vinales react? He has to book it, now. They come into Brooklands corner. Vinales has a window of opportunity, running a 2:14.4. What will Vinales do. Jonas Folger, Miguel Oliviera, and Alexis Masbou are in this. Isaac Vinales, Efren Vazquez, and Arthur Sissis are also in this. Romano Fenati and John McPhee battle, and so does Niccolo Antonelli. Wayne Ryan, the wildcard, seems to be out of this one.
Luis Salom passes Alex Rins. Ten laps remain now. Sorry, eleven laps to go. Luis Salom runs a new race lap record, two seconds quicker than the one from last year. Luis Salom is going to have to push. He can't save too much now, because he has to catch Maverick Vinales, because when Vinales pulls away, goodnight. Through Club corner they come. Luis Salom is still just chipping away at the gap. Salom runs wide and then, Rins goes for it, into The Loop. No dice here. Vinales will pull away.
Right now, we do have ten laps left. Masbou and Oliviera both pass Jonas Folger. Through Vale and into Club, the race continues. Salom closes to 4/10ths of a second. Into Brooklands. Rins is still pushing. So is Alex Marquez. Can he keep the pace with the top three? We are about halfway through this race. Alex Rins resets fast lap. Vinales has continually run in the 2:14.5 range. Luis Salom takes the lead from Maverick Vinales. Alex Rins is also pushing, and maybe Vinales is having an issue at the moment.
Rins is still knocking at the door. Alex Marquez slides his bike coming through The Loop, down the Wellington straight, and into Brooklands. They're side by side into Woodcote. Oliviera is fifth. Antonelli, Fenati, Vazquez, Ajo, McPhee, and others, all battle. Alex Rins now leads with seven laps left. Marquez moves to third with Vinales fourth. Salom slows the pace down, saving something for the final lap. He couldn't keep complete control of this race.
Marquez leads. But, it's not over yet. The lap times are increasing from 2:14 flat to 2:16.3. Who has the mental toughness to get through to the end of this one? Luis Salom is still pushing. This will come down to experience and race craft. Three wide into Brooklands as Rins passes Marquez. The lower runners are having battles of their own, being led by Jakub Kornfeil in ninth. Jack Miller goes up the inside of Miguel Oliviera.
Masbou hangs on. The pace is now back into the 2:14 range. Every corner, something happens here. Rins passes Luis Salom into Brooklands. It's crunch time now. The top four run liner stern, and fan out into Stowe. Can Vinales win? He hasn't won since Le Mans. He's had ten consecutive podium finishes, though, shooting for number eleven. Marquez passes Rins and Vinales! Wow. Salom still leads this race. Actually, it might have been Salom. It was! Wow! He just flew by the three other bikes like they were standing still!
Four laps to go now. Coming to Abbey, Jack Miller passes Alexis Masbou, and the riders run through Club. Salom is now fourth having been passed by Vinales. Luis Salom is pushing and so is Alex Marquez. The race is nearly over. Rins gos with Luis Salom. Will Vinales make his move on Alex Marquez? He'll have to, soon. There's still a ways to go yet, even with two laps left as Arthur Sissis falls, pushing Philip Oettl and Niklas Ajo, off the road. Sissis gets the worst of it.
Into Woodcote, Rins leads with Salom second. Throw the tactics out the window. Through Stowe and onto the Hangar straight. Marquez comes with Salom. What will Vinales do? Rins goes past his team mate, helping Salom get away. Rins wants his fourth win of 2013 and Salom, wants his sixth checker flag of the year. Eric Granado is slow, after crashing into another bike and Matteo Ferrari ditches his bike. Through Woodcote for one last time.
It's the last lap. Into Copse, Salom still leads over Rins and Marquez, with Vinales in fourth after winning Silverstone last year. Maggots, Becketts, Chapel, onto the Hangar straight, and into Stowe for the final time. Rins wants by Marquez on the inside and Rins can't quite get the drive. He could into Vale. Nope. Salom holds a tight line. Into Club, past the old start/finish line, and into Abbey. Vinales wants by Marquez. He can't get there.
Brooklands will be the big corner here. Into The Loop for the final time. Down the short straight, there's all sorts of jockeying for places. Luis Salom still leads into Luffield corner. Through Woodcote one last time. Salom does it! Rins second. Marquez third. Vinales gets snookered.
#39 Luis Salom ESP KTM
The next Moto 3 race will be at the San Marino Grand Prix at the Misano circuit in Italy in less than two weeks.
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