Mugello Moto3 race ended with one of the closest finishes in GP history

The opening Moto3 race ended with one of the closest finishes in Grand Prix history, with the top 21 riders covered by 3.4 seconds. The leading pack was that big throughout the 20 laps, with riders entering corners four or five abreast, so it was difficult to gain a position, but much easier to lose one, with a little slip costing a great deal.

The lead changed constantly, first place finally going to first-time winner Andrea Migno (KTM), making this the first Moto3 race of 2017 not won by a Honda rider. But there were five of Honda’s four-stroke NSF250RW machines in the top eight, the first 0.037 adrift of victory and the last of them just seven tenths away from first place.

Second place went to Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW), who had led several times over the line after starting from the front row. It was all-Honda from fifth to eighth, with Americas GP winner Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) ahead of John McPhee (British Team Honda NSF250RW), points leader Joan Mir (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) and rookie Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team Honda NSF250RW), who rode a brilliant race to finish a career-best eighth.

Three more Honda riders secured points, with Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) 11th, Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers Honda NSF250RW) 13th and fastest qualifier Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) 15th.

Honda riders dominate the Moto3 title chase, holding the first four places. Three-race winner Mir is on top, with Canet second, and Di Giannantonio today taking over third from Fenati.

The paddock now travels to Barcelona for next weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix, the home race for the locally based Repsol Honda Team

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“The idea was to be second entering the last turn and get the slipstream from Migno. I was where I wanted to be and did everything right, but he was super quick so I couldn’t overtake him before the line. It’s been an extremely good weekend nevertheless, for the team and myself. This is my third podium of the year: we really wanted to be competitive here and we did it, from start to finish. It has been the best racing weekend of my career so far.”

Aron Canet

“It was a tough race and a little dangerous, since we had 20 riders just a few millimeters from each other. I broke into the first four to attack in the last part of the race, but it didn’t quite work out. I think fifth position and achieving the maturity that we are looking for in my riding is quite positive. We leave Mugello second in the overall standings and this makes us very motivated for our home race. Montmelo is one of my favorite circuits and I hope to be back in the front group. With the Spanish fans supporting us, I think we can take another step forward.”

John McPhee

“That has to be one of the most enjoyable races ever. Although the result wasn’t quite what I was aiming for, it could have easily gone both ways. I’m not really a believer in good or bad luck but to be in the correct position going into the last lap had a lot to do with luck today. The most important thing is that I finished in front of nearly all of my championship rivals and closed the gap to the front. I need to say a big thanks to my team for their hard work all weekend. It’s nice to be back at the sharp end!”