Guevara wins the stunning Moto3 race in Australia and takes the world title in style

Brian Rodriguez,
Izan Guevara – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | © Russell Colvin

Izan Guevara won the Moto3 race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix in Australia on Sunday morning. In a very exciting race, the Spaniard scored on the last lap and took the win to also win the Moto3 World Championship.

Sunday morning at 11:05 am local time, 02:05 am Dutch time the Moto3 race started over 23 laps at the Phillip Island Grand Prix. There was a five-minute delay due to heavy rain during the warm-up session, which meant the runway had to wait for it to dry again. The race was eventually declared a “dry race” with all the drivers on the spots.

Izan Guevara entered the race with a 49-point lead over Denis Foggia and a 56-point lead over his GASGAS Aspar teammate Sergio Garcia. If he finishes ahead of the Italian and loses no more than six points to the Spaniard, Guevara will become the new Moto3 champion.

The majority of drivers chose the soft front tire and the soft rear compound, with the exception of pole sitter Ayomo Sasaki, Diogo Moreira, Dani Holgado, Adrian Fernandez, Ryusi Yamanaka, Ricardo Rossi and Xavi Artigas who had the medium compound rear tire fitted.

Sergio Garcia had the best start, leading into the first corner ahead of Diogo Moreira and Ivan Ortola. Polistar Ayomo Sasaki slipped to fourth, ahead of Stefano Niepa and World Cup leader Izan Guevara, followed by Deniz Unko, David Muñoz, Carlos Tatai and Jaume Masia in the top ten.

On the second lap, Moreira took the lead from Garcia and Sasaki climbed to third. Together with Öncü and Ortolá, these drivers actually managed to make a small gap towards Guevara who led the group behind.

Guevara took racer Joel Kelso home and together they raced forward leaving the rising group on lap three for seven drivers. There was a lot of change and with wet spots here and there it was very treacherous for the drivers.

That’s what Danny Holgado and Taiyo Furusato experienced on lap 3 entering Turn 8 (Haiched) as they both descended at high speed. It appeared that both drivers were unharmed but their race was over.

It was hard to see that Guevara was leading the tournament as the Spaniard achieved some very impressive overtakes. However, his teammate Garcia and Moreira weren’t quite ready to give it to him and did everything they could to stay ahead.

By the end of lap six, Garcia had broken off from the group and made a half-second lead toward Sasaki. Onko was third at the time, and Guevara signaled to the rest that they should work together to prevent Garcia from escaping. John McPhee found the connection so that the leading group was now eight drivers, and they had a lead of about 2.5 seconds toward the group behind them.

Entering the ninth lap, Guevara had closed a gap in front of teammate Garcia and immediately exited the slope before taking the lead in Turn 1 (Doohan Corner).

After a roll, García attacked in turn and took the lead again in Turn 4 (Miller Corner). Sasaki and Onko approached from behind while a small gap opened behind them, Kelso, McVeigh, Moreira, and Nibha.

On lap 11, Guevara again moved off Garcia’s slope to take the lead while Sasaki overtook Garcia in Turn 2 (south loop) who veered slightly. As Öncü approached from behind, these four drivers made a one-second lead toward the group behind them.

Despite being teammates, Guevara and Garcia continued to pass each other a few times. Sasaki managed to step in every now and then when Onko was looking to finish fourth, the Turkish driver appeared to be struggling with his left hand he injured in Japan but manages to keep up with the pace. Halfway through the race, this leading group of four drivers had a margin of more than two seconds over the group behind.

Entering the sixteenth lap, Sasaki was able to dive off the course of the Guevara River and take the lead. It didn’t last long as García managed to go from P3 to the lead in one go with a very impressive maneuver in Turn 4 (Miller Corner). Guevara also managed to climb to second place behind his teammate, who had already started the fight.

Guevara, Sasaki, García and Öncü put in a great show with the rankings changing at nearly every turn. Despite the drivers touching each other occasionally, no stupid things were done and it was a great sight to watch.

So it all came down to the last lap of the race. García took the lead straight but it was Oncü who took advantage of the slope and took the lead at Turn 1 (Doohan Corner). However, Guevara was very heroic in the second turn (the southern loop) and immediately took the lead from the Turkish driver. The Spaniard then drove a perfect final lap where he did not give his opponent a chance to launch another attack.

With a lead of 0.345 seconds, Guevara eventually crossed the line as the winner ahead of Onco and Garcia. With this, Guevara became the new world champion in the Moto3 class with two races remaining. Sasaki crossed the finish line and missed the podium, followed by Stefano Niepa, John McPhee, Diogo Moreira, Joel Kelso, Denis Foggia and Riccardo Rossi in the top ten.

There were accidents in this race for Scott Ogden, Tatsuki Suzuki, Ryosi Yamanaka and Mario Aji.

Condolences to the victor

Zygo Sport

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