Khairul Idham Pawi produced another wet-weather masterclass to claim his second Grand Prix victory in torrential conditions at the Sachsenring. The Malaysian rookie showcased his remarkable skill in treacherous conditions, just as he did in Argentina, to win by over eleven seconds from Andrea Locatelli who took his maiden rostrum finish.
Victory for Pawi had seemed highly unlikely after qualifying with the 17 year old starting 20th on the grid but the change in conditions played perfectly into his hands. On the opening lap, Pawi climbed thirteen places up to seventh and as Bo Bendsneyder and Locatelli disputed the lead with polesitter Enea Bastianini ahead of him, Pawi picked off the chasing riders.
At the start of lap four, John McPhee became the surprise leader with the Briton outbraking Locatelli into turn one but by the end of the lap, the Peugeot had been swallowed up by not one, but two Honda Team Asia riders with Pawi and Hiroki Ono powering past on the exit of turn thirteen.
The teammates appeared to be enjoying a level of confidence way above their rivals but Ono was caught out at turn five on lap nine as a near-highside dropped him to fifth. The Japanese rider wouldn’t rescue a second moment six laps later though and his race would end in the gravel trap.
Pawi came perilously close to join his teammate on the sidelines with a brief excursion through the turn one gravel trap costing him four seconds but once he had regrouped, no-one was going to stop him claiming the second win of an extraordinary rookie season. Locatelli fended off the chase group to finish a fine second while Bastianini followed his compatriot home in third.
Jakub Kornfeil showed his wet-weather prowess once again to take fourth ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and John McPhee while Jorge Navarro won a race-long battle with his title rival Brad Binder to finish seventh. Jules Danilo was ninth with Assen winner Francesco Bagnaia rounding out the top ten.
Moto3 GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland (Race Result)
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