2018 Austrian Moto2 and Moto3 Sunday Results

Michael Scott | August 12, 2018

2018 Austrian Moto2 and Moto3 Sunday Results

Moto2 Race – 25 laps

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Oliveira, Bagnaia, Marini, Moto2 race, Austrian MotoGP 2018 (Gold & Goose photo)

What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object?

You get a hell of a last lap.

Until then, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) had led every time over the line, and when his shadow Pecco Bagnaia (SKY VR46 Kalex) nosed ahead three or four times towards the end he’d pass him straight back.

Then on the last lap, into the last corner, Bagnaia managed to get ahead again, then left the door open for a final attack from the Portuguese. In a replay of last year’s Dovizioso/Marquez battle, Oliveira briefly saw the lead again, but ran wide to hand it back to Bagnaia on the exit.

The gap between them was a quarter of a second; Bagnaia’s fifth win regained the points lead by three points.

The fight for the next podium position was hardly less fierce, even after erstwhile combatant Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) was forced to drop back for exceeding track limits, one of several riders thus punished.

On the last lap, Alex Marquez (EG-VDS Kalex) had regained third, but in the final corners Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Kalex) got back inside, waved his hand as Marquez ran wide and slid off for a second successive race crash. Rossi’s half-brother climbed the podium for a third race in a row.

Bagnaia’s start from pole was fraught, as fellow front-row starter Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) tagged his back wheel at the first corer, pushing him wide as Oliveira sped away. Quartararo dropped out of contention, but Bagnaia finished the first lap third behind fast-starter Jorge Navarro (Federal Oils Kalex).

By the fifth he was ahead, with a second to Oliveira up front. Tenth by tenth, he chipped away, and by half distance had caught up. But the outcome would be in doubt until the final few yards.

“I am most happy about the championship, but it was a very nice race,” said Bagnaia. “When I caught him I was at the limit of my rear tyre. But when I saw it was possible to overtake, it was amazing.”

The Kalex seemed to have more front grip for braking and turning, the KTM had better drive. That meant the third and twistiest section favoured Bagnaia.

For a smiling Oliveira, “It sucks a bit to lose like this, but it was a great battle. I left it all out there. In the last lap I tried to close the line, but it wasn’t possible to get this win.”

Behind them, Marquez took third off Navarro on lap ten, and they were joined by Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Kalex), Marini and Binder. Navarro had lost touch by a

couple of seconds at the end, so when Binder was instructed to lose one place he had to slow down by that much to get behind the Spaniard, ruining his podium chances.

The other three fought to the end: Marquez getting the position early on the final lap, but Marini getting it back just before Marquez slid off. Pasini was a couple of tenths adrift; Navarro held off Binder for fifth.

Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Kalex) had closed at the finish after dealing with a fading Joan Mir (EG-VDS Kalex). Quartararo came through from 20th on lap one to head the next group, with Iker Lecuona (SII KTM) completing the top ten, Romano Fenati (Marinelli Kalex) on his back wheel, and Danny Kent (Speed Up) not far adrift. Locatelli, Manzi and Nagashima took the rest of the points.

American Joe Roberts (NTS), second-fastest in wet practice on Friday, finished 19th.

Pons HP40 team-mates Baldassarri and Fernandez crashed with Corsi in the early stages, with Remy Gardner pushed off track, getting going again only to fall later round the lap. Baldassarri, who caused it all, remounted to finish last. Sam Lowes was another to crash out.

Bagnaia has 189 points, Oliveira 186. Marquez has dropped out of contention on 113, with Binder close on 111, then Baldassarri and Mir 106 and 103.

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Moto3 Race – 23 laps

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Bezzecchi, Austrian Moto3 race 2018 (Gold & Goose photo)

Redox KTM rider Marco Bezzecchi’ took a flawless second win of the season from a first pole. He led almost from start to finish to extend his World Championship lead.

But it was overshadowed by a truly historic display of determination and courage. Nine days before Jorge Martin (Del Conca Honda) had broken his left wrist. In Austria he vied for pole, ran strongly in the lead quartet throughout, then with three laps to go even led briefly.

It wasn’t over yet for the courageous 20-year-old from Madrid, who was consigned to fourth in a hectic last lap, when the front four had been joined at the last by Leopard Honda riders Enea Bastianini and Lorenzo Dalla Porta.

Bastianini zipped through to take second from Martin, then Spanish teenager Jaume Masia (Bester Capital KTM) consigned him to fourth.

As they ran into the final corner, however, Martin attacked again as the young KTM rider slipped and ran wide, to secure a classic podium finish.

In tears afterwards, he said: “It’s difficult to explain. It was a really hard weekend for me. To be here is unbelievable.”

Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto KTM), with the leaders throughout, was fourth, less than a second adrift; mere hundredths behind him came Dalla Porta, followed by the heartbroken Masia in sixth.

Bastianini had picked up his team-mate Dalla Porta in the course of a strong ride after dropping to 16th on the second lap. He had come through a big pursuit battle, which had earlier been led by Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Honda).

Another to catch up was John McPhee (Green Power KTM), condemned to a back-row start after crashing in qualifying. He got to eighth, but in the last lap shuffle was dropped to 12th, behind Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Honda), early front runner

Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA KTM), Arbolino, erstwhile title challenger Aron Canet (EG Honda) and Brno winner Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Honda).

Jakub Kornfeil (Redox KTM) was out of touch at the end in 13th; another five seconds away Philipp Oettl and Marcos Ramirez (both KTM) took the last points.

Bezzechi stretched his lead to 12 points, 158 to Martin’s 146. Di Giannantonio has 121, Canet 118, with Bastianini closing on 117.

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Michael Scott | MotoGP Editor Scott has been covering MotoGP since long before it was MotoGP. Remember two-strokes? Scott does. He’s also a best-selling author of biographies on the lives of legendary racers such as Wayne Rainey and Barry Sheene.