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Race report

Jerez Moto3: Antonelli wins as Masia crashes

SIC58 Squadra Corse rider Niccolo Antonelli took his first Moto3 victory since 2016 at Jerez as championship contenders Jaume Masia and Marcos Ramirez crashed out.

Niccolo Antonelli, SIC58 Squadra Corse

Niccolo Antonelli, SIC58 Squadra Corse

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

For most of the race, the lead was contested between Antonelli's teammate Tatsuki Suzuki and pole-sitter Lorenzo Dalla Porta with the duo trading positions on numerous occasions.

Their teammates Ramirez and Antonelli broke the status quo heading into the last couple of laps as both passed Suzuki.

But Ramirez ended up hitting the back of Antonelli on the exit of Turn 4, his bike dangerously sliding across the track and several riders coming close to hitting it.

In the end, everyone avoided it but Romano Fenati, the Italian caught out and forced to retire.

Antonelli stayed ahead for one more lap before Suzuki passed him, but rookie Celestino Vietti then moved to the front with a Turn 1 overtake on the penultimate lap.

Vietti was demoted by Antonelli at the final corner of the same lap and, despite running slightly wide at T6, Antonelli spent the entire last lap in the lead.

Antonelli scored his fourth Moto3 win, and his first since the 2016 Qatar opener.

Suzuki took his maiden Moto3 podium by passing Vietti, who bagged his second top-three finish in eight Moto3 races, at Turn 9.

Max Racing Team's Aron Canet spent the whole race in the top group and grabbed fourth to take the championship lead, one point ahead of Antonelli.

Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto) survived Gabriel Rodrigo dive-bombing - and crashing - at T13 of the opening lap and finished fifth ahead of Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) and Jakub Kornfeil (Pruestl GP).

Dalla Porta ran wide on the penultimate lap and in the end settled for eighth followed by Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) and Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai).

Masia, who started the race as the championship leader, crashed on Lap 2 as fellow local riders Sergio Garcia and Raul Fernandez collided at Turn 6, the former taken out by the latter.

Tom Booth-Amos and Makar Yurchenko also crashed while Filip Salac retired in the pits.

Race results

Cla Rider Bike Laps Time Gap
1 Italy Niccolo Antonelli
Honda 22 39'30.327
2 Japan Tatsuki Suzuki
Honda 22 39'30.569 0.242
3 Italy Celestino Vietti Ramus
KTM 22 39'30.632 0.305
4 Spain Aron Canet
KTM 22 39'30.799 0.472
5 Spain Albert Arenas
KTM 22 39'30.890 0.563
6 Japan Kaito Toba
Honda 22 39'31.460 1.133
7 Czech Republic Jakub Kornfeil
KTM 22 39'31.514 1.187
8 Italy Lorenzo Dalla Porta
Honda 22 39'31.618 1.291
9 Japan Ai Ogura
Honda 22 39'31.757 1.430
10 Italy Andrea Migno
KTM 22 39'31.768 1.441
11 South Africa Darryn Binder
KTM 22 39'37.163 6.836
12 United Kingdom John McPhee
Honda 22 39'37.178 6.851
13 Japan Kazuki Masaki
KTM 22 39'37.431 7.104
14 Spain Alonso Lopez
Honda 22 39'37.440 7.113
15 Japan Ayumu Sasaki
Honda 22 39'37.446 7.119
16 Italy Dennis Foggia
KTM 22 39'39.295 8.968
17 Italy Tony Arbolino
Honda 22 39'40.579 10.252
18 Turkey Can Öncü
KTM 22 39'45.801 15.474
19 Italy Stefano Nepa
KTM 22 40'01.311 30.984
20 Spain Vicente Perez
KTM 22 40'01.362 31.035
21 Riccardo Rossi
Honda 22 40'09.189 38.862
22 Meikon Kawakami
KTM 22 40'18.221 47.894
23 Spain Marcos Ramirez
Honda 22 40'45.176 1'14.849
Makar Yurchenko
KTM 21 38'31.715 1 Lap
Sergio Garcia
Honda 18 32'20.580 4 Laps
Spain Raul Fernandez
KTM 18 32'20.825 4 Laps
Italy Romano Fenati
Honda 18 32'21.011 4 Laps
United Kingdom Tom Booth-Amos
KTM 18 32'55.504 4 Laps
Argentina Gabriel Rodrigo
Honda 14 25'50.040 8 Laps
Filip Salac
KTM 10 18'12.168 12 Laps
Spain Jaume Masia
KTM 2 3'43.018 20 Laps

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