Joan Mir wins brilliant, last-gasp Moto3 victory in Catalunya

Joan Mir (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) won a brilliant, last-gasp victory in the Moto3 race, snatching the lead from Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) four corners before the checkered flag. Mir’s move pushed Martin wide, which allowed Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers Honda NSF250RW) to dive past at the chicane, demoting Martin to third.

The top three were separated by less than three tenths of a second. Mir’s fourth victory of 2017 extends his championship lead to 45 points over Fenati. Today also marked the announcement of the 19-year-old’s 2018 Moto2 deal with the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS squad.

Once again, the battle for victory was an all-Honda affair, with the top five finishers on NSF250RW machines. This is the sixth occasion from the first seven races of 2017 that the podium has been monopolized by Honda men.

The 22-lap contest was another Moto3 classic, with eight riders in the lead group for much of the race. Positions changed constantly, both through the corners and down the 1.047km/0.65-mile start/finish straight as riders used the slipstream effect.

Mir, Fenati, Martin and others all took their turns out front, but usually not for very long. Jerez winner Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) was one of them, but in the end he didn’t quite have the winning pace, battling for fourth position with team-mate Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW). Bastianini won the duel, crossing the line less than two tenths outside a podium finish.

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) also played his part in the lead group, eventually finishing seventh. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda NSF250RW) completed the top ten, a mere 1.8 seconds behind the winner.

Teenage rookie Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team Honda NSF250RW) was 16th, missing the last World Championship point by 0.039 seconds. John McPhee (British Team Honda NSF250RW) finished 12th, at the front of the second group.

The MotoGP circus now heads north for the Dutch TT on June 25th and the German GP on July 2nd.

Joan Mir

“I'm so happy for this victory! I'm also happy with my race management, a long and difficult race, especially in the heat. In the first laps I did not feel comfortable with the new rubber, but with each lap I gained more confidence. In the last round I saw that Fenati and Martin were running away, but I went immediately past Bastianini and in the second sector I had already recovered everything. I was at the limit and my bike protested. I also passed Fenati and I wanted to take Martin: I knew he would close the door in the chicane. I came in direct and I'm glad I passed right at that point, I almost blew it! Performing overtaking victory in that corner, where Luis [Salom] passed last year, for me it's a tribute to his memory. I want to remain focused exclusively on this 2017 season and on this Moto3 category until the last race.”

Romano Fenati

“Today Mir and Martin were really fast and, at the last lap, I preferred to avoid risks, for not compromising the race. We come from a not good result in Mugello and from a zero score at Le Mans, and today it was really important to get points, especially for our morale. The team did a great job, the bike was good and I hope it will continue in this way for the whole season. The championship is still wide open, we are all close on points, apart from Joan. Maybe 45 points seems a lot but I think anything is possible – I can still recover. Apart from points and the championship I know we must always use our hearts, our heads and have fun. If we go on in this way I will be always happy, whatever result we'll get.”

Jorge Martin

“It was an incredible race. Unfortunately I made a silly mistake at the start, but I was able to make it back to the front quite quickly and stay within the top four almost the whole race. I’d hoped I could pull away in the last couple of laps and try to take the win but the last sector was my weak point and that’s exactly where Mir – and then Fenati – passed me on the last lap. It was important to return to the podium, however, and I’m sure once we get out first win many more will come.”