Romano Fenati brought Jack Miller’s winning start to the 2014 Moto3 season to a halt with a dramatic final lap victory in Argentina. The pair were part of a thrilling four-way fight on the last lap with Alex Marquez and Livio Loi and a forceful, physical move two corners from the finish swung the race Fenati’s way.
The Autódromo Termas de Rio Hondo proved tailor-made for Moto3 racing with the lead changing ten times from one lap to the next, including several switches in between, but two riders dominated with Miller and Fenati out in front. Fenati would regularly draft past the Red Bull Ajo KTM of Miller down the back straight towards turn five but the Australian’s prowess under braking saw him regain the lead through the infield section.
Having shaken off the early challenge of Efren Vazquez, Miller and Fenati later came under pressure from Marquez’s Honda but the fastest rider of all in the closing stages was Livio Loi, the Belgian producing a sensational late charge on the day of his seventeenth birthday. On the penultimate lap, Marquez hit the front for the first time but Fenati fought back at turn twelve to lead across the line, setting the stage for a final lap dash.
Marquez was first to blink once again with the Honda powering him past Fenati’s KTM on the back straight but Miller, who had followed the Spaniard through, was entering the section of the track that favoured him and scythed past Alex into turn nine. Four riders still had a shot at victory approaching the penultimate corner and a slight error the corner before from Miller proved crucial. The Australian lost the front of his KTM through the long left hander and was subsequently surrounded as they leading quartet approached the hairpin of turn twelve. Miller held the inside line under pressure from Marquez but still left the tiniest of gaps, an opening that Fenati was more than happy to ride through. Contact was made, angering Jack, but the ruthless Fenati didn’t care as he flicked through the final corner for his first win in two years and the first ever for Valentino Rossi’s Sky-backed team.
Miller’s nudge at the penultimate corner promoted Marquez to second with Jack holding off Livio Loi for fourth. Alex Rins edged out early frontrunner Efren Vazquez for fifth while Isaac Vinales took seventh for Team Calvo. Niklas Ajo beat Danny Kent to eighth, albeit thanks to knocking the Briton off at the very last corner, but John McPhee missed out on a certain points finish after crashing on lap eight.
