Alex Marquez misses out on rostrum by 0.013s and a penultimate lap mistake takes Rins out of the fight for the victory.
As expected, the Czech GP at Brno featured a group race in Moto3 ‒one which ended with the two Repsol riders off the podium by just a few thousandths of a second after battling for the win. Another thrilling final lap decided the race winner and the two riders to accompany him on the podium. Marquez and Rins were unable to push for victory on that final lap, but by finishing ahead of Miller and Vazquez in fourth place, Marquez regains second place in the standings and has cut two points off the Australian’s lead in the overall standings.
The race was a series of laps featuring 17 riders close together, up until the final lap. Both Rins and Marquez led the race at various times and entered the closing stages chasing glory. However, Rins made a mistake on the penultimate lap that left him out of the fight for victory, believing that the race was over and that he had won. Realising his miscalculation, he reacted to fight back from thirteenth to ninth on the final lap.
Marquez tussled on the final lap with Miller, Bastianini, Kent and Masbou for the win, and although he placed off the podium, his finishing ahead of Miller chips away two points from his rival’s overall lead. He also moves back into second in the standings, ahead of Vazquez.
Following this race, Marquez is 23 points behind Miller and Rins is 44 points back in fifth.
Alex Rins >> Audio
9th to 0.910 sec.
“If we take the last lap out of the equation, overall the weekend was positive because since Friday we have been up at the front, working on setting up the bike. It’s a pity how things turned out in the end, and it was completely my fault. Although I know it’s no excuse, there were many riders in the group, I made a mistake and I apologise. At the next race I will try to be more focused and do things well”.
Alex Marquez >> Audio
4th to 0.200 sec.
“I’m a little disappointed with fourth place, but I think that this is racing in Moto3. You can be up at the front all weekend and then on Sunday, with a slipstream, a rider who has been slower in every practice session takes the lead. It is what I did last year when I went to a new circuit; the racing is a little crazy when this happens. I was well placed in the group until the last climb, when I think I got too close to Miller and I didn’t get into his slipstream well, but in the end we saved it at the finish line by passing Miller and getting two more points than him. We have to keep taking points off him gradually and risking like we did today; I was pushing the whole race and trying to reduce the group, though it was not possible”.
