Izan Guevara, the Gas Gas Aspar Team rider, has made the Moto3 World Championship red hot. The Mallorcan achieved his second victory in Montmeló and cut 12 points in one fell swoop from his box neighbor and championship leader Sergio García Dols, who fell flat on the last lap. Although the great protagonist of Moto3 in the Catalunya GP was the very young David Muñoz, who at only 16 years old, in his second race, got on the podium, second, after having started 20th.
The exit was clean and cautious. Foggia maintained the first place from pole, Guevara second squeezed him, with Rossi third and Sergio García fourth. Öncü was the one who lost the most, falling from second to fifth place and was diluted in the peloton.
From the third lap Foggia began to be pressured by his teammate Suzuki, who climbed from 10th on the grid, and Guevara. The Japanese was the first to take control from him at the end of the straight on the fourth lap, and later Guevara took control in the fifth corner and stretched out the very large group of up to 11 riders in 1 second.
In the skirmishes, the leader, Sergio García Dols, who started from 7th place on the grid, took up positions and moved up to third place behind Suzuki and Guevara, so as not to lose control in the final laps. He was even in the lead at the start of lap six, overtaking his teammate. Although Suzuki did not give up in the attempt to command the race.
The first to fall from the front group was Foggia, who on the seventh lap, when he was fourth, left La Caixa at turn 10, with technical problems when the chain of his Honda came off. The absence of the Italian revolutionized the drivers fighting for the title, the Gas Gas teammates Guevara and García Dols, and Suzuki and Öncü, who woke up.
The large front group split in two with the multiple crash of Holgado, Yamanaka and David Salvador on lap 9, when they were tracing through La Caixa. There was a dramatic moment, with the pilots down on the ground and the rivals dodging them, but none of them suffered damage.
The Turkish Öncü, who took the lead on lap 11, went on to attack, ahead of Guevara and a spirited David Muñoz, ahead of García Dols and Masià who had already joined the fight. It didn’t last long for the Turk, because the young Sevillian Muñoz and the also young Adrián Fernández, all cheeky, dared to command the race against the favorites. The leading group had re-densed with up to 11 drivers in a second. The fight for victory was encouraged.
With seven laps to go, Guevara gave a jerk and put an end to the adventures of the Spanish kid. He opened a gap of almost half a second on his teammate García Dols in search of victory. The Mallorcan consolidated the advantage and increased it to 6 tenths over Sergio and Jaume Masià with four laps to go, with the group already very stretched and defined. Although Masià faltered and David Muñoz took over in third position, followed by Suzuki and Öncü.
On the last lap, Guevara passed with a 1 second advantage over García Dols and 1.2 over David Muñoz, who would have to defend himself thoroughly against the Japanese Suzuki and the Turkish Öncü. But the one who fell apart in the last lap was García Dols, attacked by Muñoz and Suzuki. The leader was left off the podium and sees how his teammate Guevara throws him an ordago and is only 16 points behind. The World Cup is red hot.
The Andalusian David Muñoz was brave, only 16 years old and in his second race in the World Championship, who got on the podium in second position by only 10 thousandths over Suzuki, third. Muñoz, from BOE Motorsport, was third last year in the FIM-CEV Junior World Championship.
“Second place in my second World Championship race is unbelievable for me. Many thanks to my team, my family, and my manager, Cardoso”, said the young Muñoz, a star in the making.
1. Izan Guevara (Gas Gas), 38m22s351
2. David Muñoz (KTM), a 1s975
3. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda), a 1s985
4. Sergio García Dols (Gas Gas), at 2s036
5. Marine Pioneer (KTM), a 2s752
6. Carlos Tatay (CFMoto), a 3s134
7. John McPhee (Husqvarna), a 3s341
8. Jaume Masià (KTM), at 3s633
9. Adrián Fernández (KTM), at 5s285
10. Xavi Artigas (CFMoto), at 5.555
1. Sergio García Dols (ESP), 150 points
2. Izan Guevara (ESP), 134
3. Jaume Masià (ESP), 103
4. Dennis Foggia (ITA), 95
5. Deniz Öncü (TUR), 82
6. Ayumu Sasaki (JAP), 95
7. Andrea Migno (ITA), 71
8. Tatsuki Suzuki (JAP), 70
9. Carlos Tatay (ESP), 62
10. Ricardo Rossi (ITA), 47
