Andalusia Moto3: Suzuki wins as Arenas crashes out

Suzuki led the field from pole position for the second weekend in a row, but - after dropping downthe order in the first Jerez race - appeared to have the measure of his rivals this time.

Although the SIC58 Squadra Corse rider was unable to shake off the competition and was often passed by rivals, he never ceded the lead for more than half a lap.

With six laps to go, Suzuki managed to pull away from the field by half a second, but CIP’s Darryn Binder - who had started down in 25th place - was able to reduce that advantage in no time.

However, Suzuki received a lifeline when John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta) started chasing down Binder for second, the tight scrap between the two giving the Japanese rider much needed breathing space out in front.

Suzuki eventually crossed the line 0.064s ahead of McPhee to take his first win since Misano last year, as VR46 rider Celestino Vietti took third to deny Honda a podium lockout.

Binder initially dropped to fifth after a mistake on the final lap, but was promoted to fourth after a penalty for Gresini’s Jeremy Alcoba.

Alcoba’s teammate Gabriel Rodrigo, who spent much of the race battling with Suzuki for the lead, was eventually classified fifth, ahead of Raul Fernandez (KTM Ajo) and Alcoba.

The top 10 was completed by Estrella Garcia teammates Sergio Garcia and Ryusei Yamanaka. and Snipers rider Tony Arbolino. 

Aspar rider Arenas, who won the opening two rounds of the season at Losail and Jerez, suffered a nasty crash at Turn 11 with eight laps to go. He had to be taken to the medical centre on a stretcher, but was later seen walking out of the ambulance unaided.

Arenas still leads the championship on 50 points, helped by his closest rival pre-race Ai Ogura (Honda Asia) being taken out by Leopard rider Jaume Masia. Suzuki is up to second in the points on 44, followed by McPhee on 40.

Andalusia Moto3 - race results:

Cla	#	Rider	Bike	Laps	Gap
1	24	Tatsuki Suzuki	Honda	22
2	17	John McPhee	Honda	22	0.064
3	13	Celestino Vietti Ramus	KTM	22	0.134
4	40	Darryn Binder	KTM	22	0.628
5	2	Gabriel Rodrigo	Honda	22	0.817
6	25	Raúl Fernández	KTM	22	2.742
7	52	Jeremy Alcoba	Honda	22	3.315
8	11	Sergio García	Honda	22	4.853
9	6	Ryusei Yamanaka	Honda	22	4.887
10	14	Tony Arbolino	Honda	22	4.988
11	27	Kaito Toba	KTM	22	5.301
12	55	Romano Fenati	Husqvarna	22	5.603
13	99	Carlos Tatay	KTM	22	6.783
14	82	Stefano Nepa	KTM	22	7.729
15	23	Niccolo Antonelli	Honda	22	7.776
16	92	Yuki Kunii	Honda	22	17.641
17	70	Barry Baltus	KTM	22	17.416
18	73	Maximilian Kofler	KTM	22	20.821
19	50	Jason Dupasquier	KTM	22	20.833
20	89	Khairul Idham Pawi	Honda	22	22.445
21	54	Riccardo Rossi	KTM	22	22.500
22	16	Andrea Migno	KTM	22	34.688
	9	Davide Pizzoli	KTM	20	2 Laps
	7	Dennis Foggia	Honda	19	3 Laps
	53	Deniz Öncü	KTM	18	4 Laps
	71	Ayumu Sasaki	KTM	16	6 Laps
	5	Jaume Masia	Honda	15	7 Laps
	75	Albert Arenas	KTM	14	8 Laps
	79	Ai Ogura	Honda	14	8 Laps
	12	Filip Salač	Honda	8	14 Laps
View full results