Misano Moto3: Mahindra enjoys double top-10 finish

Mahindra’s MGP30 bike has a strong baseline in wet conditions and that proved particularly handy at a damp Misano circuit on Sunday.

Jakub Kornfeil, who rides a Peugeot-badged Mahindra bike, jumped from 15th to eighth in the first three laps, only for an off-track moment to drop him well outside the top 20.

Thereafter, Kornfeil initiated a stunning recovery drive, charging his way back up the pack to finish seventh at the chequered flag.

“I felt really strong at the start and made good progress,” he explained. “I could see that the group ahead of me was getting away. So, I was on the limit at every corner to try and catch them. I did not want to settle just for a top ten.

“Unfortunately, this resulted in a crash, but I knew I could get back into the points even with the crash.

“Again, I made good time and my team did a good job of communicating the penalty to me. I could wave the other rider past on the straight and then start racing as normal straight away.”

Aspar rider Albert Arenas finished four seconds adrift in eighth to record the best result of his short Moto3 career. Arenas was one of the few riders not to fall from the bike in a race that saw no fewer than 23 crashes.

“I felt really good even though the race was really long and really difficult, very slippery. I just stayed at my own pace and remained focused to not make any mistakes.

“It’s a great result, with the first top ten for me and Mahindra this year. It is the best result so far.”

CIP’s Manuel Pagliani finished 11th, while Arenas’ teammate Lorenzo Dalla Porta claimed the final championship point in 15th despite a crash of his own.

Marco Bezzecchi, arguably the strongest rookie in the Mahindra 2017 line-up, also ran inside the top 10 in the early part of the race before crashing twice and eventually retiring.

Speaking about the performance of his riders, Mahindra’s Moto3 boss Mufaddal Choonia said: “Full marks to our Mahindra riders for our best results in the season. Never mind how it happened, we’ll take the points with gratitude.

“At the same time, this was high quality riding and top grade determination in a race where more than half the field didn’t make it to the chequered flag. We never give up and that paid off today.

“Now we look forward to a chance to show the overall strength of our package in dry weather because we’ve certainly done that in the wet.”