British Moto3: Victory for Foggia as title leaders fall at Silverstone

Round twelve of the championship got off to an electric start as the race result went all the way to the chequered flag with Dennis Foggia coming out on top after a crash filled final few laps of the Moto3 British Grand Prix.

The Leopard rider had attempted a breakaway earlier in the race but the chaotic nature of the grand prix, filled with overtakes and errors, meant he was soon reeled in by his team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki and Deniz Oncu.

Sitting in the pack, the Italian hit the front after swapping position with Jaume Masia on the final trip around the Silverstone circuit, which saw him free of trouble and first over the finish line for Leopard Honda.

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It is just the second win of the season for the number seven, with his first coming at the second round in Indonesia. 

Masia )Red Bull KTM Ajo) had given himself a massive task after not making it out of Q1, qualifying down in 21st on the grid. He stayed in that position in the first few corners, but soon got to charging through the pack and making himself known in the lead group.

After briefly leading the last lap, he chased Foggia all the way to the line but fell 0.252s short after a great comeback ride.

The final podium spot went to Oncu, who lead at various points over the race distance. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider earned his first rostrum visit of the year after pulling away from the rest of the chasing pack over the final corners, continuing his run of being in the points at every round so far.

Fourth went to Kaito Toba. Fourteenth on the grid, the CIP Green Power rider made his moves almost unnoticed over the final laps, aided in part by all the late crashes ahead of him.

Stefano Nepa followed the Japanese rider through for fifth for Angeluss MTA Team.

Polesitter Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSI) set records by claiming the first spot on the grid, becoming the first Brazilian to take a lightweight pole. In the race the rookie got off to a great start and lead for a short stint before getting beaten up by a series of tough overtakes in the highly competitive race. He rallied for sixth in the closing stages. 

John McPhee found himself at the front of the race many times over as did much of the chasing pack over the duration, running wide several times over at Brooklands, with a late forced move to the outside by Suzuki whichsaw his chance of a podium fade.The Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max racing rider gave the home crowd plenty to cheer after a superb rider to secure seventh.

Ryusei Yamanaka turned his first front row into an eighth placed finish on the second MT Helmets -MSI entry.

Andrea Migno was another rider making late gains, spending much of his time racing for the positions outside the points, he had made it up to ninth with some smooth passes on the Rivacold Snipers bike in the frantic final laps.

Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) had a similar story, crossing the line just behind to complete the top ten.

Tatay’s team-mate Xavier Artigas was in their group both out of the points places and in as he came through for eleventh. 

Scott Ogden also featured in that pack and as their battle moved through the field he crossed the line a much improved twelfth in his home grand prix for VisionTrack Racing after qualifying down in 24th after a tough Saturday for rider and team.

SIC58 Squadra Corse riders Lorenzo Fellon and Riccardo Rossi were 13th and 14th respectively while Adrian Fernandez picked up the final poiint for Red Bull KTM Tech3, despite serving a penalty in the race around the long lap loop for causing a crash in Assen.

Crashes cover the final laps of Silverstone.

There had not been a single crash in the Moto3 class at Silverstone until the Moto3 Grand Prix hit the final three laps.

Sergio Garcia came into the race as championship leader, with a slim three point advantage and his closest rival, team-mate Izan Guevara, ahead of him on track.

Garcia came through Q1 for eleventh on the grid and had worked his way into the lead pack with three laps to go when Ayumu Sasaki, fixated on the riders ahead, smacked into the back of his GasGas Aspar bike and took him out of the race.

Both of the Spaniard’s DNF’s this season have come after being collided with after also being taken out in Texas.

Sasaki was taken away from the track on a stretcher but was reported to be conscious. He was later transferred to the medical centre by ambulance for further checks.

Soon after, Izan Guevara, who had been an early frontrunner for much of the early laps before sitting back in the main group, saw his hopes of a podium end when he was also collected, this time by rookie Ivan Ortola. Ortola had made huge steps to reach the front of the race, setting a new best race lap before the unfortunate incident. 

The drama hadn’t finished unfolding with Suzuki falling soon after, cutting a frustrated figure as he punched the barrier when he walked away from his strewn Leopard. Victorious team-mate Foggia gave him a lift back to the paddock on the back of his bike.

David Munoz was next to exit at Luffield, he had come back from 19th on the grid and a long lap penalty to be in with a shout of a rostrum finish. Daniel Holgado also failed to finish.

Joshua Whatley, had been under the weather all weekend but turned 26th on the grid into a 21st palce finish in his home round on the second VisionTrack entry.

Joel Kelso is absent until at least the next round after his incident with Adrian Fernandez at the last round. He is replaced at CIP Green Power by Marc Garcia (22nd)

Matteo Bertelle is expected to miss the rest of the season as he recovers from injury, Nicola Carraro (20th) replaces him at QJMotor Avinta Racing for the rest of the year.

Where does that leave the championship?

With both of the title leaders out the gap at the top of the table remains unchanged, with Garcia still enjoying a small three point lead with a total of 182 over fellow Gaviota GasGas rider Guevara.

Dennis Foggia’s win reignites his championship charge as he got to take a full 25 points out of his defecit, now just 42 points behind the Spanish duo.

Second place moves Masia up to fourth now 55 points off Garcia’s total. A DNF sees Sasaki slip to sixth overall, with Oncu also passing him in the title standings.