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Edition

Australia
Race report

Brno Moto3: Di Giannantonio fends off Canet for first win

Fabio Di Giannantonio scored his first grand prix motorcycling win after fending off Aron Canet in a thrilling Moto3 scrap at Brno.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3

Fabio Di Giannantonio, Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Gresini Honda rider Di Giannantonio prevailed in a hectic conclusion to the 18-lap race, grabbing the lead from local hero Jakub Kornfeil at the start of the final tour and hanging on to win by just 0.112s from Canet.

It was Kornfeil that lead the early running from pole, as the Prustel KTM rider built a gap of nearly a second before being reeled in by the chasing pack.

Marco Ramirez, John McPhee, Dennis Foggia, Gabriel Rodrigo, Philipp Oettl all enjoyed spells out front in the middle part of the race, although McPhee was eliminated from contention when he suffered a crash at the final corner after contact with Ramirez on lap 11.

Kornfeil managed to retake the advantage at the start of lap 13, but was unable to escape this time, and was overtaken by Di Giannantonio several corners later as the pair began exchanging blows over the next couple of laps.

But Kornfeil's chances of a famous home victory were irreparably damaged when he was passed by Canet's Estrella Galicia Honda and then ran wide at Turn 10 on the final lap.

Despite his late charge, Canet couldn't get close enough to Di Giannantonio, whose first Moto3 win comes after 10 previous podium finishes. He was also deprived of an on-the-road victory at Le Mans due to a post-race penalty.

Kornfeil was forced to settle for third, his best result of the season, while Enea Bastianini (Leopard Honda) and Rodrigo (RBA KTM) completed the top five.

Title contender Marco Bezzecchi was sixth, and with pre-race points leader Jorge Martin unable to compete due to injury, the Italian now moves into the lead of the championship by three points.

Di Giannantonio moves up to third, 17 points adrift of Bezzecchi (Prustel).

Ramirez (Bester Capital KTM), Oettl (Schedl KTM), Albert Arenas (Aspar KTM) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard) completed the top 10. Foggia (VR46 KTM), despite his spell in the lead, slipped to 12th at the finish.

Honda Team Asia rider Kaito Toba suffered a major crash on the third lap at Turn 4 and was taken to the medical centre, but it was subsequently declared that the Japanese rider had escaped injury.

Race results:

Pos. # Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 21 Italy Fabio Di Giannantonio  Honda 39'09.124
2 44 Spain Aron Canet  Honda 0.112
3 84 Czech Republic Jakub Kornfeil  KTM 0.339
4 33 Italy Enea Bastianini  Honda 0.560
5 19 Argentina Gabriel Rodrigo  KTM 0.771
6 12 Italy Marco Bezzecchi  KTM 0.896
7 42 Spain Marcos Ramirez  KTM 1.030
8 65 Germany Philipp Ottl  KTM 1.097
9 75 Spain Albert Arenas  KTM 2.034
10 48 Italy Lorenzo Dalla Porta  Honda 2.056
11 23 Italy Niccolo Antonelli  Honda 2.093
12 10 Italy Dennis Foggia  KTM 2.359
13 22 Kazuki Masaki  KTM 2.517
14 24 Japan Tatsuki Suzuki  Honda 2.616
15 14 Italy Tony Arbolino  Honda 2.770
16 41 Thailand Nakarin Atiratphuvapat  Honda 3.674
17 5 Spain Jaume Masia  KTM 4.618
18 72 Alonso Lopez  Honda 4.870
19 8 Italy Nicolo Bulega  KTM 4.942
20 16 Italy Andrea Migno  KTM 4.954
21 77 Spain Vicente Perez  KTM 12.923
22 71 Japan Ayumu Sasaki  Honda 12.942
23 40 South Africa Darryn Binder  KTM 12.956
24 15 Filip Salac  KTM 41.511
Ret 7 Malaysia Adam Norrodin  Honda 1 Lap
Ret 81 Stefano Nepa  KTM 4 Laps
Ret 17 United Kingdom John McPhee  KTM 9 Laps
Ret 27 Japan Kaito Toba  Honda 16 Laps

 

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Edition

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