On the road to Mandalika, the Moto3™ Championship has a new leader as Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) took another impressive win last time out in Japan.
Now the pressure’s on the rest to start hitting back, but the gap remains small as the lightweight class heads into the triple header… so there’s everything to play for!
Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) is now second and six points off, and the Japanese rider remains a consistent threat at the front. And despite losing the lead and the Championship fight now playing out on turf he’s much less familiar with than most of his key rivals, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was right in the game in both India and Japan too. He’s still only nine points off the top and can’t be counted out.
The rider who lost some big and unexpected ground across India and Japan was instead Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo). The Turkish rider has to now play it perfectly and win big across the first triple header to make that back up, but he is also the top finisher from 2022 now returning to the venue this year.
David Alonso (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), meanwhile, is now just ahead of Öncü in the title fight but will want to find something extra on Lombok, having dropped out that leading postcode at the last couple of venues. But Mandalika isn’t one those around him have been racing for the last near-decade, so that could play in his favour. And he is, after all, still a rookie – even if he’s fighting for the title. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) is right there too, despite that late penalty DSQing him from the Catalan GP, and just one more diamond result could see him come right back into the picture.
You don’t want to miss this! Tune in for Moto3™’s return to Mandalika, with lights out at 12:00 (GMT +8) on Sunday!
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