Taking his first win of the 2019 Moto3 season, Lorenzo Dalla Porta brings home a Leopard Racing 1-2 at the German GP. His teammate, Marcos Ramirez, was able to hold off Aron Canet, who rounded off the podium.
Canet came to the Sachsenring circuit as our championship leader, but it is Dalla Porta who now tops the rankings as we enter the long summer break.
After a wet warm-up session, the lights went out to start a dry Moto3 race for the German GP. Pole man, Ayumu Sasaki wasn’t able to capitalise on his brilliant starting position as he quickly dropped back to fourth.
It was Romano Fenati, on his return the Moto3 grid, who shot into the lead from fifth on the grid; he was able to keep this lead for much of the first half of the race. Slotting in behind him was Ramirez and Kaito Toba.
Our first non-finisher of the race came after just three corners; Alonso Lopez suffered a highside on his Estrella Galicia machine. Just behind him, Gabriel Rodrigo was unable to avoid the incident and the pair hit the gravel together.
This collision then left a slight gap between the leading six riders and their nearest rivals of John McPhee and Can Öncü. Working hard, this pair soon closed the gap to make the leading pack a new group of nine.
The lead was switching between the likes of Dalla Porta, Ramirez, McPhee, Fenati and Jakub Kornfeil for some time, before Marcos Ramirez, on lap 11, found himself a 0.5 second gap. He managed to hold this lead for a number of laps, before a few errors allowed the chasers to catch back up.
Having started the race from twenty-second on the grid, Aron Canet was having a storming race. With five laps to go, he was up to second place having completed some stunning passes on the way.
As the race began to reach the dying stages, it looked set to be a battle between Canet and Dalla Porta, the two main title contenders. However Ramirez, who still held the lead at this point, was keen to spoil their party.
Ramirez made an error at “The Waterfall”, getting out of shape, which allowed the pairing of Dalla Porta and Canet through. With Canet now leading, and just half a lap remaining, Dalla Porta dove up the inside to steal the lead. Ramirez took advantage of the tow to slot into second.
Unable to make any more passes or attempts for the win, Dalla Porta threw it across the line to become the eighth winner in nine Moto3 races.
Just missing out on a podium spot was Romano Fenati, who crossed the line in fourth to enjoy a triumphant return to the Moto3 grid. Rounding out the top five was Raul Fernandez, just ahead of John McPhee and Ai Ogura.
Our pole-sitter, Ayumu Sasaki, eventually crossed the line in ninth, just behind Tatsuki Suzuki in eighth. The top ten was rounded out by Jakub Kornfeil.
The Championship:
Despite making serious headway and converting a bad qualifying into a podium finish, Aron Canet has lost the championship lead. He now trails Lorenzo Dalla Porta by just two points.
Despite finishing twelfth today, and scoring only four points, Niccolo Antonelli is sitting in third. He is just nine points ahead of Marcos Ramirez in fourth.
Just a single point behind Ramirez is Tony Arbolino in fifth, with John Mcphee in sixth. The top ten are currently rounded out by Celetino Vietti, Jauna Masia, Jakub Kornfeil and Kaito Toba.
The grid will be back in action after their sunny, summer holidays. The action kicks off again on the fourth of August, at the Czech Republic GP in Brno.
