Repsol rider finishes third in a difficult wet race. Teammate Fabio Quartararo, still recovering from an injured right ankle, elects against racing as a precaution. Maria Herrera finishes twenty-sixth.
Jorge Navarro added another podium finish to his tally on Sunday at Motegi, under very difficult conditions for the Japanese GP. Rainfall during the morning and fog delayed the warmup for all three categories, with a knock-on effect on the races. Navarro started from sixth place, after being penalised three positions on the starting grid by Race Direction for slowing down during qualifying, and compounded this with a bad start, although he managed to remain calm. Aware that he had a good pace, the Repsol rider overtook rivals lap by lap to reach third position, behind Niccolo Antonelli and Miguel Oliveira. After this latest podium, Navarro lies eighth in the overall standings.
With the injured Quartararo watching the race from the garage, the only other Repsol rider on track at Motegi was Maria Herrera. She finished in twenty-sixth position, in a difficult race due to the track conditions after heavy rain.
The next weekend, the Moto3 World Championship continues its flyaway tour. The next stop will be Phillip Island, the scene of the Australian Grand Prix.
Fabio Quartararo
not classified
“Together with the team I eventually decided not to take the start in the race today, because it was not necessary to take such a risk. Whether the track had been dry, or in wet conditions as was finally the case today, I would not have participated, because yesterday my times were not enough competitive. They were good considering the injury I had, but I was pushing my ankle too much, my leg was always shaking when I tried to use strength and I could not ride with confidence. We preferred to wait for Australia and take advantage of five days of rest to come back further recovered from the injury.”
Jorge Navarro
3rd, at 8.529 sec
“We improved as the race went on. I struggled to find neutral on the grid and I started a little nervously. I overtook a few riders on the first two laps and then I decided to increase my pace. Little by little I felt more and more comfortable; when I saw I was fourth I decided to stay steady, because some riders had already crashed. Later on, Isaac [Viñales] fell and I got my second consecutive podium. I am very happy and we have to continue working like this.”
Maria Herrera
26th, at 1:07.035 sec
“After the start I made it into 18th or 19th. I was moving up, but on the first two laps I had a couple of scares and, instead of crashing and hurting myself, I preferred to finish the race and gain more experience. This round has helped us to find feeling in the wet and now we have to think about Australia, and giving everything there.”
