Jorge Martin rounded off the 2017 Moto3 season with his maiden Grand Prix victory at the 50th attempt in Valencia. The Spaniard led from start to finish on his way to an unchallenged win while newly crowned champion Joan Mir produced a remarkable recovery from nineteenth to second after an early delay.
Despite leading the first couple of laps, there was no indication that Martin would have the front of the race all to himself. However, that all changed on lap three as second-placed Gabriel Rodrigo high-sided on the exit of turn eight, taking Mir off the track as the Leopard rider attempted to avoid the Argentine. Marcos Ramirez inherited second but with a two-second gap to the leader, the tow was lost, along with all hope of catching Martin.
With the victory all-but decided, attention shifted to the battle for second with Ramirez leading a nine-rider group including the impressive Junior World Champion Dennis Foggia who rose all the way up to second at half-distance. Mir wasn’t finished though and having worked his way through the traffic early on, the world champion had clawed himself on terms with the second-place group with nine laps remaining.
In a sensational display, Mir picked off his adversaries one-by-one before finally slipstreaming past Ramirez on the approach to turn one on lap 21. In eighteen laps, the Leopard rider had dispensed with seventeen riders and although he couldn’t overhaul Martin to equal Valentino Rossi’s lightweight class win record, Mir signed off from Moto3 with another masterclass.
Ramirez maintained third to earn KTM a rare rostrum while Romano Fenati bowed out of Moto3 with fourth. Enea Bastianini was fifth ahead of Juanfran Guevara while Foggia was relegated from sixth to seventh after exceeding track limits late on. John McPhee overcame an injured ankle to finish eighth ahead of Aron Canet while Red Bull Rookies champion Kazuki Masaki took an impressive tenth on his wildcard outing.
Moto3 Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana: Result
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