Moto3 Catalunya: Binder victorious as title contenders falter
Darryn Binder came out on top when the frantic final lap concluded for his maiden win in the Catalunya Moto3 Grand Prix.
The elated CIP Green Power rider had been in contention for the entire race distance, keeping his KTM in the mix and spending his share of laps leading the way.
A strong pass and good line allowed the South African to pass Dennis Foggia early in the final lap and his late braking style then saw him to hold position through the final corners to lead over the line by 0.103s for the first time at the 93rd attempt.
Second went to pole man Tony Arbolino. It is the first time the Rivacold Snipers rider has scored points in Barcelona, though a win this season still proved elusive as the Spaniard failed to find a way around Binder on his Honda despite his best efforts on the final lap.
Foggia held on to third for Leopard Racing to complete the podium places.
Sergio Garcia was close behind in fourth For Estella Galicia as the top five made a small break in the closing stages.
Fifth went to Alonso Lopez for Sterilgarda Max Racing, doing a great job of being competitive on the Husqvarna.
Jaume Masia had been at the front as part of a Leopard 1-2 briefly before an error saw him out wide, Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) was behind Masia on track and followed him as he ran slightly off track on the final lap trying to make up the difference. The move resulted in the pair being demoted one position each for exceeding track limits.
That elevated last weekend’s race winner Romano Fenati to sixth behind his teammate Lopez.
Niccolo Antonelli crossed the finish line in ninth for SIC58 Squadra Corse, while one time frontrunner Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini) dropped back to tenth in the frantic final laps.
Ai Ogura finished the race in eleventh for Honda Team Asia but that was enough to take the championship lead - earlier in the race John McPhee fell and collected Albert Arenas, so the pair did not add to their points tally. The British rider later went to the Spaniards garage to apologise.
Filip Salac finished twelfth for Rivacold Snipers, a second ahead of Raul Fernandez who was 13th for Red Bull KTM Ajo.
Stefano Nepa climbed into the points places late on and took the flag in 14th for Gaviota Aspar, while Ryuesi Yamanaka was the best of the rookies in 15th on the second Estrella Galicia entry.
Jeremy Alcoba had looked to be on course to be the top rookie finisher but was handed a long lap penalty in the race. He had it doubled for not completing it soon enough. The Gresini rider then went down the loop and wide. He was eventually handed a six second penalty instead, dropping him to 19th.
Andrea Migno ran wide onto the gravel early in the race and later retired. Carlos Tatay also entered the pits in the closing stages.
There were crashes for Davide Pizzoli, Deniz Oncu and Jose Julian Garcia who had replaced the injured Tatsuki Suzuki.
