Raul Fernandez wins the Portuguese Grand Prix after tense final lap results in Albert Arenas winning the title by just three points.
It was the final time we would see Moto3 in 2020, and it was a battle for the title between Albert Arenas, Ai Ogura, and Toni Arbolino. Arenas and Ogura were starting side by side, but Arbolino was all the way back in 27th. Raul Fernandez was on pole, but it was formation lap drama for Gabriel Rodrigo. The Argentine couldn’t catch a break in 2020, and he didn’t start after an engine problem on the grid.
Away they went. Fernandez led away, with Arenas and Ogura battling for fourth. Tatsuki Suzuki tried to muscle past Fernandez but it wasn’t happening. Arbolino found ten spots on lap one and it was slipstream city for the lead. Ogura made his way to second and Arenas third, but Fernandez kept his lead. Starting the second lap Arenas passed Ogura, with Jauma Masia slipping past too. It was getting a bit messy as riders went three and four abreast and Fernandez was checking away all the time. Suddenly, Masia was sixth and Jeremy Alcoba second. Things were changing thick and fast and there were still 17 laps to run.
Fernandez was off and away, two seconds ahead of Arenas as the group chopped each other up. Deniz Oncu was suddenly fifth and Masia down to ninth. Arbolino was up to tenth from 27th and quickly catching his rivals.
Image Credit: MotoGP
Half Way Through…
Now, Fernandez was off in Lisbon, 5 seconds ahead of Oncu who was now second, but then it was Alcoba, then Sergio Garcia threw his hat in. Despite the shenanigans, the pack was trying to preserve the tyres to push them later.
The second-place battle was now a lot bigger than it used to be as the pack closed up. Second down to 15th was covered by only three seconds. Out of nowhere the two Leopard riders Masia and Denis Foggia looked strong for a podium too. Arbolino was now up to seventh, up 20 spots. He was quickly on the tail of Arenas and the face of the race changed as the title contenders went side by side. They touched, and Arbolino just squeezed through. Could he pick up enough points to take the title? It was a truly hectic race and five laps were still to come. Then Ogura made a fantastic move on Arenas to move ahead, nine points separated the top 3 in the Championship. This race was truly off the scale.
Then Masia and Suzuki crashed from third and fifth. Fernandez was still a mile ahead but behind it was overtake city.
Then the final lap happened. Arenas almost fell. Ogura found piles of pace. There was too much to keep up with and with one turn left we still didn’t know who would win the title. Fernandez was the race winner, but after a tense battle, it was Albert Arenas who was the 2020 Moto3 World Champion by a mere three points after finishing 12th. The ride of the race went to Arbolino, from 27th to sixth, and took second in the title. Ai Ogura came so close, but in the end, lost the title by four points.
It was the second win of the year for Fernandez, and in the end, he was less than 20 points away from the title too. Honda took the manufacturer’s title by 8 points, and Leopard Racing took the team’s championship.
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