Bendsneyder 12th at Mugello

Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) has taken his first ever Grand Prix win on home turf in the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, staying just ahead of compatriot Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) as the two broke free from the pack on the final lap. Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team) took his first ever podium in P3, breaking free of the Moto3™ mayhem out of the final corner. Che spettacolo! It was Di Giannantonio who got the best start, taking the lead into Turn 1 as teammate Jorge Martin also got a spectacular first few corners from P13 on the grid to move up into the top six. Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) was another good starter, as the big loser off the line proved Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) and the Italian dropped back outside the top ten. The initial front group that emerged saw Fenati leading Di Giannantonio, Jorge Martin, Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), John McPhee (British Talent Team) and Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate), as Ramirez’ teammate Darryn Binder looked to tag onto the back. Bulega regrouped to then lead the second freight train, but the slipstream down the more than kilometer long straight soon came into play as the top eleven closed up, followed by almost the entirety of the field. With over twenty riders in the “front group” – a spectacular sight down the straight – positions switched and changed at the sharp end as advantages were gained and lost in the slipstream. Some stunning overtakes around the rest of the lap made for a signature Moto3™ spectacle, with riders going eight or nine abreast into Turn 1 and the fight through the field one of the best displays of Grand Prix racing in the lightweight class seen this year, this decade – or possibly even this century. The timesheets seemed to flip every time over the line, but as the last lap dawned it was Migno and Di Giannantonio who managed to pull a tiny gap from the tousle behind – with the VR46 academy rider able to just stay ahead over the line to take his first ever Grand Prix win, by only 0.037. ‘Diggia’ – who had also been hunting his first win –  took another podium as he gains traction in 2017, and showed incredible sportsmanship as he congratulated his compatriot on the win only a split second after the pair crossed the line. Juanfran Guevara’s first podium came ahead of an equal best-ever result for Darryn Binder in fourth, with Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) completing the top five. BTT rider John McPhee took sixth in a solid ride to bag more points, and crucially finished just ahead of Championship leader Joan Mir (Leopard Racing). Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team) was the rookie of the day, as the former Asia Talent Cup winner took an incredible P8 after fighting at the front for the first time on the world stage – and coming from P24 on the grid. Marcos Ramirez took P9, ahead of Italian duo Nicolo Bulega and Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0). Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took P12, ahead of a more difficult finish for initial leader Romano Fenati. Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) was fourteenth, in front of another key title challenger to lose out in the latter stages of the race: Jorge Martin.

Race results:

Source: motogp.com, ajo.fi