Bastianini roars to victory; Mapfre Team Mahindra’s Pecco Bagnaia finishes 8th at Misano: Moto3

A huge Italian party at a sold-out Misano kicked off in perfect fashion for the home crowd as an Italian rider took victory in Moto3. Enea Bastianini, who took pole position yesterday, was roared on to victory after an almighty battle with Fenati, Oliveira, Binder and Vázquez. Despite the skirmish in the lead group the pace was still a rapid mid-1’43 per lap, with a new record of 1’42.841 included. Oliveira tried to take the lead in the closing stages but Bastianini sealed victory with a brutal overtake as Antonelli provided further home joy behind them with the final podium position.

Pecco Bagnaia had already stated coming into the San Marino Grand Prix that a top ten finish in the Moto3 race would be a satisfactory result for him. Today the MAPFRE Team Mahindra rider met that objective but not without a huge effort. The Italian lost contact with the leaders due to a gearbox error but fought valiantly to cross the line in eighth place. Jorge Martín pushed hard early in the race to recover from a discreet start and despite not enjoying the same feeling that he’d had during practice here the MAPFRE Team Mahindra youngster fought to the end for a points-scoring finish. A final-corner battle with his team-mate Juanfran Guevara almost finished with both riders on the floor but as Martín stayed upright, Guevara was not so lucky.

Francesco `Pecco’ Bagnaia said: “Today was a tough race, probably the toughest of the season because I had to give 120% from start to finish. We were losing quite a lot compared to the other guys down the straights so we need to have a look at the telemetry to work out why that might have been and how we can fix it. I pushed hard at the start of the race and together with Masbou we did a good job to catch the lead group but once I got past him I hit a false neutral and lost a lot of time on one lap. Luckily Kent had to give up a position as a penalty so I was able to hang on to him for the last few laps, which allowed me to open a gap over the rest of the group. Masbou passed me again on the straight and I finished eighth. Tomorrow we have an important test here at Misano to try and improve on where we went wrong today.”

eom/Mapfre Team Mahindra release