#QatarGP – MOTO3: Piqueras denies Furusato first win in Lusail photo finish
Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) is the new Moto3 Championship leader after defeating Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) on the drag to the line in Doha, with the duo split by just 0.009. Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) completes the podium for his second GP rostrum from a maiden pole position, with drama hitting late on for Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) as a technical problem dropped him out the fight for the win.
Yamanaka grabbed the holeshot and there wasn’t too much drama at the start, with the freight train forming from the off. But the penalty notifications came in quickly for those with Long Laps to serve – one for Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and two for rookie Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – dropping them down the order, and a crash for Dennis Foggia (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team) that saw him tag David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) took them out the front group, Foggia out of the race and Muñoz dropped down the order.
At the front, it became a leading quartet of Yamanaka, Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA), Rueda and Piqueras, with a gap back to David Almansa (Leopard Racing) heading the fight for the top five. It closed up again as the laps ticked down though and Almansa slid out of contention, leaving six riders battling before Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team) faded from the group to make it five.
Just before the final lap, huge drama suddenly hit in the title chase as Rueda sat up. The former Championship leader had a mechanical and was out of the fight, leaving four riders to fight for three places on the podium. As ever at Lusail, the chopping and changing went right to the wire. At Turn 14 on the last lap, Furusato took over in front as he decided to be the defender at the final corner, and defend he did – but maybe too much.
The #72 stayed well on the inside and was ahead on the exit too, but Piqueras got the hammer down and just beat him to the line by 0.009. Furusato just misses out on that maiden win, but Piqueras makes a 25-point gain on Rueda to just take over in the Championship leader. Yamanaka fended off Kelso to follow up a maiden pole with a second ever podium.
Kelso is forced to settle for fourth this time round, ahead of Rossi and an impressive comeback from Muñoz after getting forced wide by Foggia’s crash. He just beat SIC58 Squadra Corse duo Luca Lunetta and Stefano Nepa. Nicola Carraro (Rivacold Snipers Team) pipped top rookie Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) as they completed the top ten, just ahead of Carpe who stormed back through to P11 despite his double Long Lap.
Riccardo Rossi P5
“It has been another challenging weekend. A lot of things happened in today’s race, from a rider crashing in front of me to me crashing as well… I was trying to push not to lose the leading group again, and I went wide in the last corner. It’s a pity, because I felt strong and I know we could have achieved a good result today. We will keep pushing”
David Almansa P16
Tatchakorn Buasri P19
“Although we were able to fix a lot of things yesterday, having a good feeling with the bike again, some of the problems we had on Friday reappeared during the race, making it very difficult. This wasn’t what we expected from this weekend. We will focus on getting back to our best in Jerez”
Adrian Fernandez NC
“It’s a shame to finish the race like this, after having made up six positions in just three laps and having set the fastest lap of the race so far. I was feeling good; the crash was a shame, but I’d rather have a race like this, taking a chance with the best, and crash than having a race at the back of the pack and not being a protagonist. I want to thank the team for everything they’ve worked on these past few days to give me a bike I can fight on today.”
Dennis Foggia NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Qatar.