Fabio Quartararo just misses out on maiden Moto3 victory and Jorge Navarro finishes 0.062s off the podium. Maria Herrera crashes out from eighth after contact from another rider.
Saturday was a bittersweet day for the Repsol riders in Moto3. Whilst Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Navarro placed second and fourth, respectively, Maria Herrera has starred in a spectacular battle in the second group for eighth. However, she was crashed into by Niccolo Antonelli under braking when tryng to escape and was eliminated from the race.
At the front, Quartararo and Navarro were in a group with Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Danny Kent, Romano Fenati and Enea Bastianini. Throughout the race there were countless passes in this group and, once again, the last lap was a lottery. Quartararo crossed the line second, just 0.066s behind winner Miguel Oliveira, and Navarro finished fourth. After leading the race at one point, he missed out on third place to Kent by just 0.062s.
After this race, Quartararo lies sixth in the overall standings with 74 points. Navarro is eleventh with 44.
Fabio Quartararo
2nd at 0.066 sec.
“The truth is I would have preferred to have won, but it was not possible. I am satisfied with the work we have done throughout the weekend. Here at Assen we have done well right from the start on Thursday. Today in the race I was in the front group and on the last lap I managed to overtake Miguel [Oliveira] before the third sector, because I knew he was very fast there. However, both he and Kent passed me and I couldn’t regain the lead. I’m very happy with this podium and for having fought with the top riders.”
Jorge Navarro
4th at 0.179 sec.
“It was a very hard-fought race. At first I was riding carefully, after a crash in the warmup, but I found my feeling again and I decided to steadily gain positions. When there were two thirds of the race remaining I began to overtake the front riders. I saw there were possibilities, I attacked and I got into the lead for many laps. It’s a shame about the last lap; I made a mistake between Turns 10 and 11. That meant I couldn’t slipstream and enabled Kent to pass me. I’m happy with the work we’ve done and we continue to improve.”
Maria Herrera
not classified
“The first few laps went very well and everything went as I wanted. I got up to eighth, was fast and was following the pace of the leading group. As for the crash, these things happen. Today it was because of a mistake from another rider, but another day it will be my mistake. It was a shame because it could have taken a great result for the team, but there will be more races and we have to continue in the same way. This year we have to learn and gain respect. I am pleased to have reached eighth place and been able to fight in a group of very strong riders.”
