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2023 Author: Nicholas Abramson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 14:58
The Austrian Grand Prix has left us a spectacular race in the Moto3 World Championship. Joan Mir He has claimed the seventh victory of the season, propping up the foundations of a World Cup that already bears his name. Not only has he not given anyone a choice, coming back in the first laps and escaping in the last, he has also taken advantage of the poor result of his opponents in the general classification.
Escorting number 36 on the podium, Phillip Oettl has been placed in a second position based on perseverance and tenacity, but if someone was happy at the ceremony it was Jorge Martin with a superb third place still limping from the injury that just a week ago forced him to miss the Brno race.
Third consecutive win for Mir, seventh of 2017
As the Red Bull Ring traffic lights go out, Gabriel Rodrigo He came out in an absolutely perfect way reaching the first outstanding corner, but in the first great climb from sixth to bottom the slipstreams devoured the Argentine leaving him in sixth position. Joan Mir, after being penalized with the cancellation of his best time in qualifying, was trying to regain positions.
Who assumed the leadership was John mcphee, but the one who crossed the finish line in the first place was Gabriel Rodrigo and when the braking of turn 1 arrived, the one who was in first position was Bo bendsneyder. The one in Austria is a short circuit, twisty and with many climbs, which favors a group race.
Even so, Bendsneyder tried to open a gap and held the first position during the first laps while Aron Canet and Enea Bastianini they disputed with the still convalescent Jorge Martin the leadership of a compact and numerous second group.
On the fifth lap Jorge Martin The infiltrator went on the attack and placed himself in first position, while Mir on the climb came like lightning and stole the first place with a brutal push. With the overall leader in first position and Romano Fenati 15th after a track start, the Leopard Racing driver's strategy was clear: shoot to the death to deliver a championship masterstroke.
With I looked ahead the group began to disintegrate. Number 36 forced the pace to the maximum and got enough distance to hold on the straights without being caught in the slipstream. In the linked area Mir managed to open a gap in the linked area and in the fastest parts the Honda ran enough to defend itself.
Behind Oettl, McPhee, Martín, Migno and Rodrigo tried to join Mir, but the fight between them only sporadically allowed one of them to approach. Mir's constancy subdued the attempts of all his pursuers. In the second group it shone brightly Jaume Masià, Darryn Binder's replacement at Platinum Bay Real Estate, from the FIM CEV Repsol, who finished sixth after setting a fastest lap and a record in the race.
With 10 to go Mir definitely broke the deck and he went solo more than a second ahead, undoing any slipstream option. Behind him, the group was reduced to just three riders with Rodrigo, Martín and Masià, who got into second place with his private KTM.
As the laps went by, the wear and tear took its toll on the most active drivers in the peloton and with Mir more than 4 seconds with two laps to go it was Phillip Oettl who was filming in second place followed by Livio Loi, Gabriel Rodrigo and Jorge Martín.
With Joan Mir crossing the finish line alone and repeating victory in the Red Bull Ring (in addition to adding the 1,500th podium in the history of Spanish motorcycling) as he already did to achieve the first of his sporting career, the title is already beginning to take shape with Fenati finishing in thirteenth position. Phillip Oettl He imposed himself on the platoon and Jorge Martin, full of joy, he closed a fantastic podium that will help him heal his still recent injuries, he shed tears of joy and limped up to the podium.
Following this result, Mir considerably strengthens his leadership adding 215 points, by 151 from Romano Fenati and 137 from Aron Canet. Almost three runs ahead, 64 points.