Repsol rider wins and takes lead of Moto3 World Championship after perfect race. Oliveira places tenth and Álex Rins crashes out on lap two.
Just like at the Portuguese Grand Prix earlier in the season, the Moto3 class was last out at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone today. Maverick Viñales was the star of the headline attraction, controlling the race from the front and picking his moment to break free for victory. The result was the Spaniard’s third win of the year and his second in succession, taking him back into the lead of the overall standings. Fellow Repsol rider Miguel Oliveira was not so lucky, suffering from tyre problems in the second half of the race and settling for tenth place. Álex Rins crashed out on lap two.
Starting from pole, Viñales was caught up in a tight group of riders looking to lead at the beginning of the race. The Spaniard held firm and defended constant attacks from rivals using the slipstream on the straights, gaining the advantage back on the twisty sections.
Three laps from the end, the Repsol rider was able to pull away just enough to break free and leave Salom and Cortese behind. He pushed the pace and clocked his fastest lap on his last time around the Silverstone circuit, taking the win and moving back into the lead of the World Championship —two points ahead of Cortese.
The race was less positive for Miguel Oliveira and Álex Rins. The Portuguese was held up at the start by the battles around him and, when he eventually moved into the lead group, his tyre wear was too severe to allow him to gain any further positions.
Teammate Álex Rins saw his race cut short on lap two. Riding twelfth, he collided with the rear of Niklas Ajo’s bike under braking and crashed out at 190 km/h, although thankfully he escaped serious injury. After a visit to the medical centre, he received a diagnosis of bruises and abrasions, plus a small fissure to his index finger which does not put his participation at Assen in doubt.
Maverick Viñales >> Audio
1st- 38:55.210
“I’m very happy, because the majority of the race took place in groups without the chance to escape but I managed to find enough for victory. I really pushed with three laps to go. Luis Salom and Sandro Cortese had a lot of top speed on the straight, but I knew that I could beat them if I slowed them down. After a weekend in which we were fast in every condition, we took pole and the win. I’m also back ahead in the overall standings and now we have to keep that going or increase the advantage.”
Miguel Oliveira >> Audio (port)
10th at 15.613 sec.
“That was a tough race. Our aim was to get a good start and try and gain places on the opening lap. Things went completely differently to how we had planned; we lost places at the start and didn’t get off the line well. It was a difficult weekend in general, particularly with the setting as we never found the compromise between the setup for the slow part of the track and that for the fast part.We also missed out on the chance of putting in a fast lap yesterday, which would have allowed us to start from further up the order today. In any case, we were determined and caught up with the front group. From then on, my rear tyre was shot and there was no way that I could take many more risks, so I settled for tenth. I hope that we can be closer to the front next time out.”
Álex Rins >> Audio
fall
“It is a shame, because on turn nine of lap two I made contact with another rider and I was thrown to the ground. I couldn’t do anything to avoid the crash. We should look ahead and try to recover as soon as possible in order to be in top form for the next race.”
