Mahindra’s Bagnaia shines at home with Mugello podium: Moto3

Aspar Mahindra rider takes spectacular third place, whilst teammate Jorge Martín places fourteenth in wild race

Mug3llo, 22 May 2016: An exciting Moto3 race was expected at Mugello, and the lower cylinder category did not disappoint. A tight contest, the points-scoring positions were separated by just 2 seconds –and the Top Five was split by just 0.077s. The winner was decided on the final corner, as Brad Binder held off riders attempting a slipstream to claim the third victory of his career. He leads the World Championship by 49 points over Jorge Navarro, who failed to finish at Mugello . The podium was completed by Italians Fabio di Giannantonio, second, and Aspar Mahindra’s Pecco Bagnaia –who made a spectacular push from ninth position with three laps remaining.

Pecco Bagnaia took his third podium of the season at Mugello. He began strongly, and on the first lap he had already gained three positions –moving up amongst the frontrunners just a few laps later. The Italian was consistently close to the front of a crowded group, consisting of more than twenty riders, but with three laps to go he ran wide at Turn 1, dropping to ninth. From there, Bagnaia continued to climb up the field to go into the last corner second, dropping down to third. He was just 0.031s off the rider in second place at the finish line. Teammate Jorge Martin fought his way up from fourteenth on the grid to fourth place a few laps from the end, but a series of glitches with his gearbox forced him back into the fight with the group. He would eventually take the chequered flag in fourteenth.

3rd Pecco Bagnaia: “It’s a great result. After spending the whole weekend in the Top Five, it has been exciting to finish third in Mugello; we have gone beyond our limit. It was a tough race, with a very large group, and from the beginning I tried to give my best and push the bike in the same way.  I am very happy with the team’s work; it has been a great race for us. It was hard because I had to stay in front, but at the same time it was easy because there was a very high pace. After finishing fourth for the last two years at Mugello, finishing third is incredible.”

eom/Aspar press release