Brad Binder can clinch the Moto3 world championship at the next round in Aragon after winning the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano. The South African denied Enea Bastianini after a race-long battle to extend his lead to 106 points, meaning a top two finish next time out will see him crowned Moto3 champion with four races to spare.
In 2016, Moto3 races have been characterised by large leading groups but Sunday’s race was slightly different as an accident for Jorge Navarro caused a split in a ten-rider pack. The Spaniard was running third when the rear end of his Estrella Galicia Honda stepped out at turn fourteen, high-siding him and taking him out of the Grand Prix.
Binder and Bastianini were on the right side of the split and opened up a one-second advantage over the chase group being led by Joan Mir and Nicolo Bulega. With no other rivals to worry about, a cagey battle between the two ensued with Bastianini hitting the front five laps from home. Binder’s superior tactics ultimately made the difference though as the Ajo rider waited until five corners from the chequered flag to make his move, diving past the Gresini Honda and fending off a last corner lunge to take victory number five of 2016.
The fight for third also went down to the wire and Mir looked to have missed his chance when race direction ordered him to let Bulega through, the Leopard rider having exceeded track limits one time too many. The Spaniard recovered though and regained third a lap and a half from home, ensuring he would beat his former CEV rival to the last rostrum spot.
Jakub Kornfeil rode an excellent race to fifth ahead of Andrea Locatelli on the second Leopard KTM while Aron Canet salvaged seventh on the sole remaining Estrella Galicia bike. Philipp Oettl was eighth ahead of Hiroki Ono while Fabio Di Giannantonio rounded out the top ten.
Moto3 GP TIM Di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini (Race Result)
Pos
Rider
Constructor
Team
Time/Gap
Pts
1
41. Brad Binder
KTM
Red Bull KTM Ajo
39:37.556
25
2
33. Enea Bastianini
Honda
Gresini Racing Moto3
+0.262
20
3
36. Joan Mir
KTM
Leopard Racing
+1.416
16
4
8. Nicolo Bulega
KTM
Sky Racing Team VR46
+1.534
13
5
84. Jakub Kornfeil
Honda
Drive M7 SIC Racing Team
+4.278
11
6
55. Andrea Locatelli
KTM
Leopard Racing
+4.387
10
7
44. Aron Canet
Honda
Estrella Galicia 0,0
+4.811
9
8
65. Philipp Oettl
KTM
Schedl GP Racing
+5.582
8
9
76. Hiroki Ono
Honda
Honda Team Asia
+6.259
7
10
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio
Honda
Gresini Racing Moto3
+10.896
6
11
23. Niccolo Antonelli
Honda
Ongetta-Rivacold
+13.939
5
12
58. Juanfran Guevara
KTM
RBA Racing Team
+14.091
4
13
11. Livio Loi
Honda
RW Racing GP BV
+14.103
3
14
95. Jules Danilo
Honda
Ongetta-Rivacold
+14.810
2
15
16. Andrea Migno
KTM
Sky Racing Team VR46
+14.868
1
16
62. Stefano Manzi
Mahindra
Mahindra Racing
+23.292
17
48. Lorenzo Dalla Porta
KTM
Sky Racing Team VR46
+23.349
18
20. Fabio Quartararo
KTM
Leopard Racing
+23.523
19
12. Albert Arenas
Peugeot
Peugeot MC Saxoprint
+31.140
20
17. John McPhee
Peugeot
Peugeot MC Saxoprint
+35.145
21
21. Francesco Bagnaia
Mahindra
Gaviota Mahindra Aspar
+35.170
22
89. Khairul Idham Pawi
Honda
Honda Team Asia
+35.409
23
7. Adam Norrodin
Honda
Drive M7 SIC Racing Team
+35.467
24
77. Lorenzo Petrarca
Mahindra
3570 Team Italia
+48.285
25
3. Fabio Spiranelli
Mahindra
CIP-Unicom Starker
+56.451
26
43. Stefano Valtulini
Mahindra
3570 Team Italia
+56.486
NC
40. Darryn Binder
Mahindra
Platinum Bay Real Estate
+4 Laps
NC
24. Tatsuki Suzuki
Mahindra
CIP-Unicom Starker
+8 Laps
NC
42. Marcos Ramirez
Mahindra
Platinum Bay Real Estate
+10 Laps
NC
9. Jorge Navarro
Honda
Estrella Galicia 0,0
+16 Laps
NC
19. Gabriel Rodrigo
KTM
RBA Racing Team
+17 Laps
NC
6. Maria Herrera
KTM
MH6 Team
+22 Laps
NC
64. Bo Bendsneyder
KTM
Red Bull KTM Ajo
+23 Laps
NC
71. Alex Fabbri
Mahindra
Minimoto Portomaggiore
+23 Laps
NS
88. Jorge Martin
Mahindra
Gaviota Mahindra Aspar
Injured