Action packed at Mugello, early crashes put championship leaders in question as our World Championship Leader strengthens his lead.
The sunny weather sees most of the tire combinations as a hard front and soft rear option. Jaume Masia, Andrea Migno and Filip Salac are the only ones who stray from this popular option, opting out for the hard front.
Acosta took the early lead in front of Gabriel Rodrigo, one of the favorites to win the race today. There was a major crash early on involving four riders: Tatay, Migno and Oncu, Koffler. One of the bikes was stuck on top of Tatay, who seemed to have walked away from the crash well.
Dennis Foggia used the speed of the Leopard Racing bike to take the lead from Acosta and Rodrigo. The KTM Ajo rider takes the lead back in the corners but loses it again in the straight. He ends up down the pack in 10th place while Foggia and Romano Fenati battle it out for first.
15 Laps To Go
With 15 laps to go, Foggia and Fenati continue to swap 1st and 2nd while Rodrigo tries to stay with them. Acosta has made his way up to 4th, taking a rider every time they pass through the final corner of the circuit. It’s clear that the rookie has the strategy to be a champion, but can he keep it up?
Where Foggia and Rodrigo have the power in the straight, Acosta has an impressive ability to use the agility of the KTM in the corners. While both are great, the ability to cleanly pass in the corners is arguably superior. It’s hard to believe he’s a rookie.
10 Laps To Go
The halfway point of the race sees Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki in the front, followed by Fenati and Sergio Garcia. Our championship leader has fallen back to 9th in front of Darryn Binder.
With how the race is going, anyone in the top 10 has a chance to take the win.
While there are many great riders in Moto3, Rodrigo has really proven himself here in Mugello. He has seemed to master the line between aggressive and graceful as he overtakes riders so fast they hardly see it coming. It’s truly an impressive display of skill.
On the other side, it’s shocking that Binder isn’t doing as well. Thinking back to Qatar, a track that has the same benefits of Mugello, Binder thrives there. It could be the pressure that is put on the body during the fact corners.
Five Laps To Go
With five laps to go, it’s anyone’s race. The race leader is changing so much it’s difficult to keep track of. At this point in the race, we are beginning to see some tire issues as the soft front that is so great for overtaking loses some grip. Salac, the only rider with the hard front option that remains, is at the back of the pack. It’s clear that the soft front and hard rear option was superior.
After suffering multiple moments on the front end, Suzuki has fallen to 10th place while the other early leaders maintain the 6th and 7th position. Everything changes on the stop/finish straight.
Last Lap
We start the last lap with Foggia and Rodrigo leading the pack, Binder gaining some last minute strength to battle for the win. Acosta, after falling to 8th, claws his way through the field. While it’s hard to say he can win from where he is, the top 10 is so packed it wouldn’t be insane if he did.
But Foggia pulls away from the pack as Masia trails close behind. Can he get in the slipstream?
He can’t!
Dennis Foggia takes the win, followed by Jaume Masia and Gabriel Rodrigo.
Taking a look at the championship, Acosta still has an intense lead ahead of Masia.
This was definitely one of the best races of the season, completely action packed and always changing. It was the kind of Moto3 race we all love to see, though it would have been great to see Migno in the pack as well.
The next stop on our calendar is in one week’s time at the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya. We have seen some epic battles take place there and if the other riders can mimic today’s race, then Acosta might not be as safe as he seems.
See you all in a week.
At the beginning of the Moto2 session, the news of Jason Dupasquier’s passing came in.
On behalf of Overtake Motorsport, our hearts are with his family, his team and with all riding for him today.
