The Italian went in as the favourite and kept that mantle to the end for a stunning breakaway win at the British GP.
It seemed hard to look past Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) for victory at Silverstone, and on race day the Italian more than proved why. Leading from lights out and initially shadowed by Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia VR46 Academy), the number 55 was then able to pull away in the final few laps to take that rarest of prizes: a breakaway Moto3™ win. Antonelli, on return from injury and still riding through the pain barrier, held on for a stunning second, however, with Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) just coming out on top in a duel for third against rookie Izan Guevara (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) after a fabulous race from the Spaniard.
At lights out, Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) was just about able to get alongside Fenati, but the Italian held on round the outside and from there, he never looked back. Antonelli moved up into second to begin his charge, with Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) initially in third as the trio made an early break for it.
By 14 to go, Fenati, Antonelli and Migno were still stuck pretty close together, and the gap back to Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) at the head of the fight for fourth was already up to nearly a second and a half. But heartbreak would then hit for Migno as the Italian pulled off the track with an issue – leaving Fenati and Antonelli with even more space back to the chasing pack.
The chasing pack was then one group fighting for third ahead of a bigger gap back to the battle for tenth, which included Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and closest challenger Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team). After some early progress the two then watched the group ahead escape, making it a handful of points up for grabs in their battle at the top.
Back at the front, the Fenati-Antonelli duo pounded on. Over three seconds clear and pretty well matched on rhythm, there wasn’t much to choose between the two. But as the laps ticked on Antonelli, riding through the pain barrier, started to fade slightly – just as Foggia and Guevara managed to pull away from the group battle behind them.
Over the final two laps, Fenati really hammered home the advantage and crossed the line over a second and a half clear, putting in as close to perfect a Moto3™ race weekend as possible. Antonelli held on to second and although the gap was coming down rapidly on the last couple of laps, Foggia and Guevara had their own duel to focus on.
The rookie was able to strike and take over in third, but Foggia found an answer. And from there, the number 28 stayed glued to the rear tyre of the Leopard machine, but there was no way through. It went down to Woodcote and Guevara tried the inside line on the drag to the line, but it wasn’t quite enough. Foggia takes anther podium, but Guevara’s fourth is his best result so far and rounded out a fabulous race from the rookie.
The battle for fifth behind them was won by Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) as he pipped Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Darryn Binder forced to settle for seventh. There was then another even bigger gap back to the battle for eighth, with Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) winning that ahead of front row starter Riccardo Rossi (BOE Owlride).
Another gap back to a crucial fight behind saw Carlos Tatay (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3) able to gain a bit of breathing space for tenth, with Acosta classified 11th after a one position penalty for John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing), the number 17 taking P12 despite some early drama that dropped him back. Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Filip Salac (CarXpert PrüstelGP) and Rodrigo completed the points, with Garcia losing out late on and taking P16.
A different Moto3™ race with two riders in a class of their own brings the lightweight running to a close at Silverstone. It’s next stop Aragon, so come back for more in two weeks!
Moto3™ podium
1 Romano Fenati – Sterilgarda Max Racing Team – Husqvarna – 37:26.974
2 Niccolo Antonelli – Avintia VR46 Academy – KTM – +1.679
3 Dennis Foggia – Leopard Racing – Honda – +2.107
Romano Fenati: “I’m not happy! Haha. No, I’m REALLY happy, it’s amazing, every session first, my race was for sure fantastic, but also the work with my team, the team did an amazing job, so I’m not happy. I’m MUCH MORE than happy! Now we have to think about the next race, for sure it’s not easy to do another weekend like this, but for sure it’s the target. We have to do like this because we can do it, and I trust my team and my bike.”
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