Mahindra finishes farewell Moto3 race inside top-20

Mahindra entered the junior class of MotoGP in 2011, when it still ran on 125cc bikes. The Indian manufacturer steadily progressed through the field over the years, scoring three wins in a breakthrough 2016 season.

In Valencia, Kornfeil led the charge for Mahindra on a Peugeot-branded MGP30, finishing 18th. The Czech rider sprinted from 25th to 20th on the opening lap and then gained two more places in the remainder of the 31-lap encounter.

Meanwhile, factory-supported Aspar team’s Lorenzo Dalla Porta finished just over a second behind in 20th, down one spot from his starting position.

CIP’s Manuel Pagliani was next up in 22nd place and a fraction of a second ahead of Dalla Porta’s teammate Albert Arenas.

Marco Bezzecchi, who scored Mahindra’s only podium of 2017 at Motegi, ended up a distant 28th after falling off the bike early in the race.

Although Mahindra failed to score points in the final round, it did accumulate 69 points during the previous 18 races of the season.

“Obviously, this was quite an emotional day – our last time, at least for the moment, after seven years and some very proud moments,” Mahindra Moto3 chief Mufaddal Choonia said.

“We weren’t able to add to our points score today, but at the same time our riders showed the strength of our package, keeping up in a close fight. As always, better qualifying positions would have meant better finishes.

“Mahindra has had some real highs over the last seven seasons, most especially our three wins last year. We can be proud also of our riders, past and present.

“Grand Prix racing has been a pleasure and a privilege for all of us.”