Moto3 Japan Motegi Race: Lorenzo Dalla Porta, masterfully, Arón Canet on the mat

Back from injury and passing through Q1, Niccolò Antonelli qualified for the eighth time on pole position in Moto3. He ties Jack Miller for fourth place on the list of drivers with the most pole positions in the class. Antonelli took the second of his four Grand Prix victories in Japan in 2015.

This is the second pole position for a Honda rider at Twin Ring Motegi since the launch of the Moto3 category in 2012, with Hiroki Ono in 2016.

Alonso lopez, who finished on the podium for the first time in his career in the Grand Prix in Thailand and who, like Antonelli, went through Q1 and qualified in second place, which constitutes her best qualifying result and her start in first place.

Tatsuki suzuki qualified in third place. It is the fourth time this year he has qualified in the top three, although he started 14th in Austria following a penalty. Additionally, this is the first front row start for a Japanese driver in the Grand Prix entry category at Motegi since Tomoyoshi Koyama, second in 2007.

Is the winner among this trio making up the first row formed on a wet track or will other contenders assert themselves on a now dry bitumen? Before answering this question, here is the table which summarizes the facts…

Motegi Moto3™	2018	2019
FP1	1'57.740 Jakub Kornfeil	1'57.240 Lorenzo Dalla Porta
FP2	2'05.403 Marco Bezzecchi	1'56.742 Andrea Migno
FP3	1'56.911 Jorge Martin	2'08.385 Ai Ogura
Q1	XXX	2'09.680 Alonso Lopez
Q2	1'56.894 Gabriel Rodrigo	2'09.293 Niccolò Antonelli
warm up	1'57.617 Ayumu Sasaki	1'57.782 Tony Arbolino
Course	Bezzecchi, Dalla Porta, Binder	Dalla Porta, Arenas, Vietti
All time lap record	1'56.443 Hiroki Ono (2016)

After passing Q1, Makar Yurchenko qualified in fourth place. This is the best KTM rider on the grid at Motegi, and his best qualifying result on what is the 24th start of his career.

The rookie Sergio Garcia qualified in fifth place, which is his best result and the first time he has qualified on the first three rows of the grid.

The championship leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who finished in second place last year in Japan, qualified in sixth place. He is positioned for the seventh time this year in the first two rows of the grid, but the first time since Silverstone.

Second in the championship, Aron Canet qualified in eighth place as the third KTM rider. It is also the eighth time this year that he has failed to place on the first two rows of the grid.

Third in the championship, Tony Arbolino, who finished sixth at Motegi last year, qualified in 27th place. This is the worst qualifying result since his 29th place in Valencia in 2017. The Italian suffered from an arm injury in Buriram.

It's 24,4 degrees in the air and 34,4 degrees on the track. The sun is finally out!

 

Thoughts from the entire paddock for the victims of the Typhoon…

The drivers will have 20 laps to battle it out and seek victory.

Lights out and it's Suzuki which at the exit of the turn, veers into the lead in front López et Yurchenko. Antonelli et Garcia are four and five.

kick of Cornfeel who mows Rodrigo in turn 4. Booth-Amos goes to the mat also in a straight line.

The two championship leaders are neck and neck, Canet being seventh, Dallas Port being in his wheel.

In front of, Suzuki at home who wants his victory, leads the race in front López et Garcia. Arenas et Canet form the top 5. Arenas very strong, pass López and comes to position itself third behind Suzuki et Garcia. McPhee made the effort and took fifth position to the detriment of Lopez. Canet, very scathing, goes to the front and places himself in fourth place. from Port who had been behind for a few laps came back strong and passed McPhee. He is now fifth.

kick of Binder in turn 11, the latter returns to the track.

Arenas misses and leaves Canet et Dallas Port infiltrate, these now occupy ranks two and three. War is declared between the two leaders of the championship, Dalla Porta coming into contact with Canet, but the KTM rider does not weaken. Two pressure shots on his opponent and Canet made a gap leaving Dalla Porta to take second position. On his momentum, the Leopard pilot carries out an attack on Suzuki and seizes leadership.

Canet, gets overtaken Arenas et Garcia, he is now fifth.

New fall of Booth-Amos in turn 1. FallArbolino in turn 5, the latter seems to touch his shin, he leaves the track on a stretcher.

Suzuki does not give up, he tries to regain the lead of the race by attacking Dalla Porta, in vain. The Leopard pilot closes all doors.

There are 8 rounds left to cover, the top5 is as follows: Dalla Porta, Suzuki, Arenas, Garcia et Canet. 

kick of Canet in turn 9 which has just put a blow on the carafe for the championship. As it stands, he would be 47 points behind Dallas Port. The KTM rider returns to the box.

Four laps from the goal, Suzuki attacks Dallas Port. The Japanese manages to regain the lead of the troops but not for long because the Italian responds to him instantly. He gets his “precious” back. Behind, Arenas, Garcia et Drive make up the top5.

Last lap and it's Dallas Port which imposes itself in front Arenas and Vietti. Local, Suzuki finishes fourth, Garcia, closed the top5.

Full results: 

Pos	Name	Race time	Gap (first/prev)	number	Nat.	Team	Motorcycle	Point
1	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	39'34.866		48	ITA	Leopard Racing	Honda	25
2	Albert ARENAS	39'34.96	+0.094 / 0.094	75	SPA	Gaviota Angel Nieto Team	KTM	20
3	Celestino VIETTI	39'35.64	+0.198 / 0.104	13	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	16
4	Tatsuki SUZUKI	39'35.155	+0.289 / 0.091	24	JPN	SIC58 Squadra Corsica	Honda	13
5	Sergio GARCIA	39'35.303	+0.437 / 0.148	11	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	11
6	John MCPHEE	39'38.514	+3.648 / 3.211	17	GBR	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Honda	10
7	Jaume MASIÁ	39'42.91	+7.225 / 3.577	5	SPA	Mugen Race	KTM	9
8	Marcos RAMÍREZ	39'42.248	+7.382 / 0.157	42	SPA	Leopard Racing	Honda	8
9	Alonso LÓPEZ	39'43.38	+8.172 / 0.790	21	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	7
10	Andrea MIGNO	39'46.92	+12.054 / 3.882	16	ITA	Mugen Race	KTM	6
11	Makar YURCHENKO	39'47.162	+12.296 / 0.242	76	KAZ	BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race	KTM	5
12	Niccolò ANTONELLI	39'48.161	+13.295 / 0.999	23	ITA	SIC58 Squadra Corsica	Honda	4
13	Ayumu SASAKI	39'48.174	+13.308 / 0.013	71	JPN	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Honda	3
14	To OGURA	39'48.199	+13.333 / 0.025	79	JPN	Honda Team Asia	Honda	2
15	Ryusei YAMANAKA	39'48.228	+13.362 / 0.029	6	JPN	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	1
16	Stefano NEPA	39'48.246	+13.380 / 0.018	82	ITA	Avintia Arizona 77	KTM	0
17	Kaito TOBA	39'48.353	+13.487 / 0.107	27	JPN	Honda Team Asia	Honda	0
18	Can ÖNCÜ	39'48.806	+13.940 / 0.453	61	TUR	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	0
19	Raul FERNANDEZ	39'49.514	+14.648 / 0.708	25	SPA	Gaviota Angel Nieto Team	KTM	0
20	Kazuki MASAKI	39'57.752	+22.886 / 8.238	22	JPN	BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race	KTM	0
21	Riccardo ROSSI	39'57.773	+22.907 / 0.021	54	ITA	Commercial Gresini Moto3	Honda	0
22	Filip SALAC	39'58.282	+23.416 / 0.509	12	CZE	Redox PruestelGP	KTM	0
23	Dennis FOGGIA	40'07.594	+32.728 / 9.312	7	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	0
24	Tom BOOTH-AMOS	41'24.666		69	GBR	CIP Green Power	KTM	0
-1	Romano FENATI	29'53.62		55	ITA	VNE Snipers	Honda	0
-1	Arón CANET	27'59.414		44	SPA	Sterilgarda Max Racing Team	KTM	0
-1	Tony ARBOLINO	17'53.771		14	ITA	VNE Snipers	Honda	0
-1	Darryn BINDER	14'37.313		40	RSA	CIP Green Power	KTM	0
-1	Jakub KORNFEIL	00'00.		84	CZE	Redox PruestelGP	KTM	0
-1	Gabriel RODRIGO	00'00.		19	ARG	Commercial Gresini Moto3	Honda	0