Moto2 and Moto3 at Phillip Island

Monday 21 October:

Pol Espargaro has retaken the Moto2™ World Championship lead, winning Sunday’s Tissot Australian Grand Prix in the absence of Scott Redding. Tom Luthi and Jordi Torres completed the podium, with Tito Rabat sinking to eighth.

When looking back at the Phillip Island round of the 2013 season, the race is likely to be remembered as a key turning point in the campaign. Redding’s chances took a major blow on Saturday, with the Englishman and long-time championship leader being ruled out of action as he fractured his left wrist. Following an operation on Saturday night, the Marc VDS Racing Team rider was left helpless on the sidelines.

Espargaro (Tuenti HP 40) started from his fifth pole of the season, joined on the front row by teammate and last weekend’s Sepang winner Tito Rabat who has demonstrated rapidity since practice began on Friday. A reduced race distance saw the riders tackling only 13 laps of the southern Australian venue, with fears over tyres having seen changes to the duration following the qualifying session on Saturday.

It would prove to be a lights-to-flag victory for Espargaro, his fifth of the season and allowing the Catalan to win at Phillip Island for the second consecutive year; in the process, he snatches back the championship lead for the first time since after the season-opening race in Qatar. In a brilliant day for Espargaro’s championship situation, teammate Rabat finished only eighth after running off the circuit.

Tom Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing) pushed Espargaro all the way, finishing only half a second behind Espargaro for a fifth rostrum of the season and his second within the space of a week. Jordi Torres was third for Aspar Team Moto2, collecting his first podium finish since winning the German Grand Prix in July.

The top five was completed by NGM Mobile Racing’s Simone Corsi and former Phillip Island winner Alex de Angelis, who ran second for NGM Mobile Forward Racing in the early stages of the race. Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio was seventh from the aforementioned Rabat, Aspar’s Nico Terol and QMMF Racing’s Anthony West who successfully finished in the top ten in his home event. Reigning Moto3™ World Champion Sandro Cortese was 11th for Dynavolt Intact GP from Forward’s Ricky Cardus and Tech3’s Danny Kent. In 14th place, Gino Rea scored two points for Argiñano & Gines Racing, while Indonesia’s Doni Tata Pradita achieved his maiden Moto2™ point for Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 by finishing 15th.

Five riders failed to finish: Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team), Johann Zarco (Came Iodaracing Project), Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team), Louis Rossi (Tech3) and Alex Mariñelarena (Blusens Avintia). Tuenti HP 40’s Alex Pons made the end in 24th after an early race off. Pons, Italtrans’ Takaaki Nakagami and Maptaq SAG Zelos Team’s Marcel Schrotter were all handed penalties for jumping the start.

With just the Japanese and Valencian rounds of the season remaining, Espargaro leads Redding in the championship by 16 points following a highly dramatic shaking up of the establishment. Rabat sits third, 36 points behind the leader with a maximum of 50 left on offer. The action will continue at Twin Ring Motegi next weekend.

Moto3: Rins beats Viñales in Phillip Island photo finish

Alex Rins has won a thrilling Moto3™ Tissot Australian Grand Prix, coming out of top of a multiple-rider battle to beat Maverick Viñales by just three thousandths of a second. Both riders decreased the championship-leading advantage of pole-sitter Luis Salom, who completed the podium at Phillip Island.

Rins’ latest victory of 2013 was surely his most dramatic to date, ensuring he has now matched Salom on six race wins this season as well as having won three of the last four Grands Prix. Remarkably, the top seven riders were covered by just over one second, with Niccolo Antonelli only a further 1.1 in arrears.

The majority of riders in the field found themselves in tight groups for the duration of the 23-lap race, affected by light rain on certain parts of the newly-resurfaced circuit. Philipp Oettl (Interwetten Paddock Moto3) would fail to start due to engine problems and there were retirements for Francesco Bagnaia (San Carlo Team Italia) and Hyuga Watanabe (La Fonte Tascaracing), but no less than 30 riders managed the testing conditions to finish.

A titanic battle at the forefront saw a selection of riders enjoying time in the lead, whereas Salom ran as low as seventh but looked to be making his customary climb to the very sharp end in the closing minutes of the race. However it was Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger who stole the limelight as the final lap began, shooting into the lead at Doohan curve only to run wide and drop to sixth three corners later.

The run to line resulted in the closest finish so far this year in the World Championship, with Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) pipping Viñales (Team Calvo) after having both started on the second row of the grid. The winner now moves to within just five points of championship leader Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) with a pair of races remaining in Japan and Valencia, whereas Viñales is also in contention and 22 in arrears of the overall leader.

Rins’ teammate Alex Marquez finished fourth, with the first group completed by local favourite Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG), Folger, front row starter Efren Vazquez (Mahindra Racing) and Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini Moto3). Avant Tecno’s Niklas Ajo was a further 12.8 seconds behind and headed the second group, with Alexis Masbou rounding out the top ten for Ongetta-Rivacold. Mahindra’s Miguel Oliveira recovered to 26^th spot and was fortunate to avoid injury after flying over his handlebars at the MG hairpin on the opening lap. Wildcard Lachlan Kavney (Bullet Racing) also hit trouble, finishing one lap down in 30^th place.

With only five points now between the championship leaders and a maximum of 50 still on offer, it is all to play for in the title battle. The 2013 Moto3™ season will continue next weekend with the AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan at Twin Ring Motegi.