4. Livio Loi (Moto3)
One of the beautiful aspects of the junior class is that we see new stars born on a regular basis and in Argentina, Moto3 uncovered another. In 2013, Livio Loi performed as well as you would expect from a sixteen year old rookie with four points finishes, including fifteenth on his debut at Jerez, but thanks to his exploits in Termas de Rio Hondo, 2014 has already eclipsed it.
The signs were there on Saturday morning that the Belgian was a force to be reckoned with, Livio going fifth fastest in final practice, and he duly went on to qualify a career-best ninth on the Marc VDS Kalex-KTM. Already, Loi was turning heads but his performance on race day would further enhance his reputation.
Crucially, Livio stayed out of trouble in the opening laps to break away with seven others in the leading group but around half distance, a split was forming with Loi some 3.3 seconds off the lead. But while the frontrunners squabbled amongst themselves, unable to decide who would lead the high-speed freight train, Loi turned in a succession of sensational laps to pull back half a second per lap, bringing him right into play.
With a lap to go, Loi was not only up to fourth but a maiden Grand Prix podium looked a real possibility. That honour eluded him with Jack Miller recovering from his bust-up with Romano Fenati to beat the Belgian by eight hundredths of a second but if truth be told, Livio had made his point anyway and silverware is surely a part of a very bright future for him. As 17th birthdays go, this was one to remember.
(Photo Credit: Marc VDS Racing Team)
