It's time for Moto 3 to race at the Motegi circuit in Motegi, Japan. The sun is shining. There were typhoons, as well as rain and fog. But it has disappeared. Alex Rins and Luis Salom are five points apart going into this race. The riders had qualifying in the wet and had a full warmup in the morning. It dried out within the last minutes of the session.
This is a straight fight for the title between polesitter Alex Rins, and Luis Salom, who is on the second row on the 2.983 mile track. There are a couple Japanese wildcard riders in this race. John McPhee, Alexis Masbou and others, are down the order on the grid. 35 bikes will start this 20 lap race. The bikes are off on their warmup lap. We could have Luis Salom be the champion after this race, or, Alex Rins. We'll find out together, fans.
There's a lot of tension in the air. It's the penultimate race for Moto 3 this season. Turn one is going to be the major corner. Salom, Rins, Vinales, stay out of trouble. At the start, Rins and Salom get good jumps with Alex Marquez blocking as Zulhfammi Khairuddin falls off. Jack Miller is going well, but Rins has to sit up, and drops spots. Marquez leads with Vinales second and Salom third. Luis Salom was passed. Vinales was fastest in the morning practice. But, Salom and Vinales have both crashed! That was Isaac Vinales (Maverick Vinales' cousin). Oh my!
oUT OF THE S CURVE, Vinales was out of shape and piling over the top of Luis Salom, who crashes! Alex Rins got lucky. That is massive for the championship. Jack Miller was on the inside. So, Maverick Vinales is now into the championship hunt. Will Rins win this race? If he does, that'll be big for the season finale. Salom is six seconds down on Jasper Iwema who is 30th. He's passed Iwema.
Jonas Folger has moved up. Rins sets fast lap at 1:58 and change. Couldn't see the time. Now, Salom's race is over. Zulhfammi Khairuddin has also crashed. Maverick Vinales is all over Alex Rins right now. Rins sets a new circuit record. He has to stay in touch but not do anything foolish. John McPhee sets new fast lap at 1:58.971. Luis Salom is having issues as Alex Marquez runs deep into turn five. This is early times in the race.
It's not over by any means. Vinales still leads with fifteen laps left. Jonas Folger is quickest on the track as Marquez has a slight issue off of turn two. Rins was signaling to Marquez, "hey, dude, what were you doing?" Salom runs fast lap at 1:58.6. Wildcard rider (last name Yamada), is slower on track at the moment. Alex Marquez is under pressure from Jonas Folger. Jack Miller continues to run fifth. Rins runs a 1:58.473. Yamada and the other wildcard rider Yamoto are slower still. How hard will Rins ride to beat Maverick Vinales?
Marquez and Folger are second and third through the 90 degree corner. New fast lap for Luis Salom, running 27th. Not sure of the time. Somewhere in the 1:58s. Rins is on the tail of Maverick Vinales with 12-13 laps left. Take a deep breath, fans. This race isn't over yet. Miguel Oliviera is in fifth place already, and has passed Jack Miller. He'll be back in Moto 3 next year. John McPhee is up to ninth spot. Luis Salom makes another pass.
Rins is right on top of Maverick Vinales now. Luis Salom pushes too hard, crashes his bike, and will score zero points. He has lost his chance of catching up to Alex Rins. Well, he's got a bit of a shot going into the finale at Valencia, Spain at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. But, it'll be an uphill battle. Ten laps left in this race now. Rins has left a gap, but that's the only mistake he's made this whole race. Jack Miller is struggling to stay in his spot with Romano Fenati and others chasing him down.
Rins is in the catbird seat for the championship lead. Romano Fenati is challenging Jack Miller. Fenati will race for a team owned by Valentino Rossi. Alexis Masbou is also in a battle here, and again, so is John McPhee. Niccolo Antonelli passes Niklas Ajo. Alex Marquez passes Alex Rins. Hmmm. Marquez sets fast lap of the race at 1:58.380. How did that happen? Nine laps left. Brad Binder got into Zulhfammi Khairuddin earlier. So, both riders are under investigation by the FIM stewards.
Rins runs third. He's going to stay behind Alex Marquez, giving Marquez a chance to go after Maverick Vinales. Seven laps left in this race at Motegi. Jack Miller, Alexis Masbou, and Romano Fenati battle. Masbou passes Miller. John McPhee is having his best race of the season right now. He's 2.5 seconds ahead of Niccolo Antonelli. Alex Marquez is looking for his first Grand Prix victory. Alexis Masbou has done well this season. Miguel Oliviera and Jonas Folger are also running well, with six laps left now.
Alex Marquez passes Vinales, and Vinales comes back in the braking zone. Vinales needs a lifeline in the championship with one race remaining. If Rins makes a move on Marquez, he'll need to do it soon. Oh no! Alex Rins has crashed! If Vinales wins, Rins has a three point lead over Luis Salom! Holy cow! Rins restarts his bike. It's not over yet. He's ridden around on the service road to turn one. If Vinales wins, he leads the world championship going into the finale in Valencia, Spain.
Rins lost the rear tire going into the final corner. Three laps left. Maverick Vinales is leading the Moto 3 world championship. If Marquez wins, he would give Salom a chance. Rins, K.O. Rins is now 25th in the order. He's running by himself. This is crazy! Jonas Folger can get on the podium. Alex Marquez wants his first win. Two laps left at Motegi. Marquez has gone through inside Vinales. If he does win, there will be five points in it before a winner takes all shootout at Valencia.
Alex Marquez still leads this race. They come to the hairpin. Vinales maks a pass and takes the lead again down the back straight. Alex Marquez is going to push like no tomorrow for this final lap. What will happen? Vinales leads. Marquez is second. He has a go on Vinales. Marquez slips going to turn five. Vinales is booking it. Marquez has to ride his own race. Half a lap left now. Marquez is trying. They are both trying. Marquez takes the lead out of the hairpin. Here comes Vinales. Vinales late on the brakes. He runs wide. Marquez wins from Vinales!
#12 Alex Marquez ESP KTM
One race remains in Moto 3 in Valencia, Spain at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, coming up in two weeks.
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