Dutch Moto3: Unpassable Foggia holds on for Assen victory

Dennis Foggia had the perfect line and pace in the final sector to win the Moto3 Dutch Grand Prix, round nine of the championship.

The Leopard Racing rider looked strong on the Honda - The Italian did not lead every lap with pressure coming from Romano Fenati and Sergio Garcia all the way. Once ahead he had superior speed in the final sector, if in front he could hold and if behind he had the power to slipstream back to the front.

Foggia’s win comes off the back of third at the Sachsenring, the first time he has taken back to back podiums - his much needed consistency sees him go into the break in third in the championship with 86 points.

The podium looked set with the lead trio pulling away to match Foggia’s pace. It was to be Garcia who crossed the line second for Gaviota GasGas Aspar, keeping him in second overall, but closing in on Pedro Acosta, just 0.078s behind the winner after the number seven ran a more defensive final lap.

The podium was completed by a third manufacturer with Fenati bringing home the Sterligarda Max Racing Team Husqvarna bike next.

The Italian recovered from his long lap penalty for his altercation with his team-mate Adrian Fernandez, with both long lap loop visits completed by lap four after he pulled out enough of a gap from leading as the lights went out to rejoin in the lead group both times.

Darryn Binder crossed the line fourth for Petronas Sprinta Racing, but was then demoted for several seperate track limits violations on the last lap, eventually dropping him three places to seventh.

That saw Acosta climb to fourth. The championship leader was back on track following his collision at the end of FP3 on Saturday, which saw him hit by Riccardo Rossi’s bike. Starting 18th after missing qualifying which led to hospital observation for his injuries, the teenage rookie set a new best in race lap as he climbed back into contention, recovering twice to finish as the top KTM for the Red Bull Ajo team as a small error in the race saw him drop back a little for a short time.
 

Tatsuki Suzuki’s race preparations did not go to plan - he missed warm-up after giving an inconclusive PCR test. Cleared to race for Sic58 Squadra Corse, the Japanese rider was a constant feature in the lead group until it started to splinter late in the race, finishing fifth.

John McPhee claimed valuable points in sixth as he was also moved ahead of his team-mate.

Gabriel Rodrigo lead the very distant chasing group, who never looked likely to bridge the gap. Over nine seconds behind the winner, the Gresini rider crossed the line eighth.

He had Xavier Artigas on the second Leopard bike for company, who could not find away past, so had to settle for ninth.

Jeremy Alcoba started on pole for the first time in his world championship career, but could not translate his pace into race performance. The Gresini rider completed the top ten.

Further back, Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) made moves late on to climb to eleventh, all the more impressive after starting from the back of the grid after being caught up in Acosta’s Saturday fall and also missing qualifying.

The Italian just held off rookie Izan Guevara on the second Aspar GasGas entry, leaving him twelfth.

Kaito Toba’s early wobble on his CIP Green Power machine saw both himself and Niccolo Antonelli fall down the order, with warm-up leader Andrea Migno coming off worst in the accident and retiring to the pits. The Japanese rider was an eventual 13th, with Avintia’s Antonelli 14th.

The final point on offer went to Red Bull Tech 3’s Dennis Oncu.

Elia Bartolini just missed out on another points finish in a distant 16th as he again replaces Carlos Tatay at Avinta.

Riccardo Rossi was handed a pit lane start for an unusual rule break - he participated in track action at Assen within 14 days of the Grand Prix weekend. Starting from the last row of the grid after he too missed qualifying following the Acosta crash, he finished 18th.

Jaume Masia saw his title hopes take another pounding while his colleague leads the standings - one of several riders handed a ride through penalty for irresponsible riding in Q1, he never recovered - taking the chequered flag 20th.

Adrian Fernandez was the only other non-finisher, crashing out after completing his double long lap penalty.

Ayumu Sasaki is still absent at Red Bull KTM Tech 3, as he continues his cautious recovery following a concussion diagnosis.

Pole man in Germany, Filip Salac does not return until the paddock arrives in Austria after the summer break following his split from the Snipers team to join PruestelGP.