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Andalusia Moto3: Suzuki wins as Arenas crashes out

Tatsuki Suzuki claimed his second-ever Moto3 victory in the Andalusian Grand Prix at Jerez on Sunday, as championship leader Albert Arenas crashed out of the race.

Tatsuki Suzuki, SIC58 Squadra Corse

Tatsuki Suzuki, SIC58 Squadra Corse

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Suzuki led the field from pole position for the second weekend in a row, but - after dropping downthe order in the first Jerez race - appeared to have the measure of his rivals this time.

Although the SIC58 Squadra Corse rider was unable to shake off the competition and was often passed by rivals, he never ceded the lead for more than half a lap.

With six laps to go, Suzuki managed to pull away from the field by half a second, but CIP’s Darryn Binder - who had started down in 25th place - was able to reduce that advantage in no time.

However, Suzuki received a lifeline when John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta) started chasing down Binder for second, the tight scrap between the two giving the Japanese rider much needed breathing space out in front.

Suzuki eventually crossed the line 0.064s ahead of McPhee to take his first win since Misano last year, as VR46 rider Celestino Vietti took third to deny Honda a podium lockout.

Binder initially dropped to fifth after a mistake on the final lap, but was promoted to fourth after a penalty for Gresini’s Jeremy Alcoba.

Alcoba’s teammate Gabriel Rodrigo, who spent much of the race battling with Suzuki for the lead, was eventually classified fifth, ahead of Raul Fernandez (KTM Ajo) and Alcoba.

The top 10 was completed by Estrella Garcia teammates Sergio Garcia and Ryusei Yamanaka. and Snipers rider Tony Arbolino. 

Aspar rider Arenas, who won the opening two rounds of the season at Losail and Jerez, suffered a nasty crash at Turn 11 with eight laps to go. He had to be taken to the medical centre on a stretcher, but was later seen walking out of the ambulance unaided.

Arenas still leads the championship on 50 points, helped by his closest rival pre-race Ai Ogura (Honda Asia) being taken out by Leopard rider Jaume Masia. Suzuki is up to second in the points on 44, followed by McPhee on 40.

Andalusia Moto3 - race results:

Cla # Rider Bike Laps Gap
1 24 Japan Tatsuki Suzuki
Honda 22
2 17 United Kingdom John McPhee
Honda 22 0.064
3 13 Italy Celestino Vietti Ramus
KTM 22 0.134
4 40 South Africa Darryn Binder
KTM 22 0.628
5 2 Argentina Gabriel Rodrigo
Honda 22 0.817
6 25 Spain Raúl Fernández
KTM 22 2.742
7 52 Spain Jeremy Alcoba
Honda 22 3.315
8 11 Spain Sergio García
Honda 22 4.853
9 6 Japan Ryusei Yamanaka
Honda 22 4.887
10 14 Italy Tony Arbolino
Honda 22 4.988
11 27 Japan Kaito Toba
KTM 22 5.301
12 55 Italy Romano Fenati
Husqvarna 22 5.603
13 99 Spain Carlos Tatay
KTM 22 6.783
14 82 Italy Stefano Nepa
KTM 22 7.729
15 23 Italy Niccolo Antonelli
Honda 22 7.776
16 92 Japan Yuki Kunii
Honda 22 17.641
17 70 Belgium Barry Baltus
KTM 22 17.416
18 73 Austria Maximilian Kofler
KTM 22 20.821
19 50 Switzerland Jason Dupasquier
KTM 22 20.833
20 89 Malaysia Khairul Idham Pawi
Honda 22 22.445
21 54 Italy Riccardo Rossi
KTM 22 22.500
22 16 Italy Andrea Migno
KTM 22 34.688
9 Italy Davide Pizzoli
KTM 20 2 Laps
7 Italy Dennis Foggia
Honda 19 3 Laps
53 Turkey Deniz Öncü
KTM 18 4 Laps
71 Japan Ayumu Sasaki
KTM 16 6 Laps
5 Spain Jaume Masia
Honda 15 7 Laps
75 Spain Albert Arenas
KTM 14 8 Laps
79 Japan Ai Ogura
Honda 14 8 Laps
12 Czech Republic Filip Salač
Honda 8 14 Laps

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