Joan Mir claims sixth win of the year and increases championship lead

In the Moto3 race it was back to business as usual for Honda’s NSF250RW brigade, with a ninth race win of 2017, an eighth top-three lock-out and six Hondas in the top ten.

Run over 19 laps on a slowly drying circuit, the first race of the day became closer as the laps wore on. By the finish, it was between championship leader Joan Mir (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) and his closest title rival Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers Honda NSF250RW). Mir claimed a sixth win of the year, just over three tenths of a second ahead of the Italian, to stretch his impressive title lead to 42 points.

Perhaps the ride of the race came from Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW), who finished third after recovering from his involvement in a first-lap tangle. He had dropped to 22nd, but rode steadily through the pack.

Last year’s winner John McPhee (British Team Honda NSF250RW) also came through after starting 19th on the grid to finish sixth. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda NSF250RW) was eighth, and Adam Norrodin (SIC Racing Team Honda NSF250RW) ninth. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) completed the top ten.

The next race is the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, next weekend.

Joan Mir

“The summer break did me good! Indeed, from the first day here, after what had happened to Angel Nieto, I wanted to win to dedicate a victory to him. I've been busy since the free practice, but the conditions were not easy and I expected a complicated race. Today, as the track dried up, I felt comfortable on the bike and I really want to thank the whole team for the work done. I knew that with a dry track I could keep a good pace. When I saw that the second group was catching us, I stopped my lazy times and took charge, even though it’s not easy to push when there is only a dry line. I could not think about anything else and I did not want to relax, because all my rivals are very fast, and they always come right back. This victory is for Angel and his family: if it had not been for him, neither I nor many others would have begun to follow motorcycles.”

Romano Fenati

“I am really happy with this race, because in the wet we improved a lot. Honestly I didn’t expect to go so fast in the first part of the race, and this is like a victory for me. In the last laps Joan and I really pushed the limit! I pushed to the maximum and risked a lot. Now we move to Austria, where I have never raced, but I hope to do well.”

Aron Canet

“I took off from 17th position and then lost some more, but then I started to get good grip from the rear tire, so after four laps I realized that I could keep improving my pace. I passed many riders without any difficulty, had a good feeling and focused my attention on the second group, which was three seconds ahead. I thought it would be difficult to catch them, but I managed it. I then had the front group with Mir, Fenati, Guevara and Bendsneyder ahead of me, but Joan and Romano increased their pace and I couldn’t really catch them. I had a great fight with Bendsneyder and Guevara and, in the end, this podium feels like a win after such a tough weekend.”