Moto3, triumph for Martin in Qatar, by Porta 3

He was without a doubt the favorite to win and has lived up to expectations. We’re talking about Jorge Martin who, after missing pole position by a thousandth of a second, redeemed himself with the first 25 points of the season, The first rider in Moto3 history to win the last race of the previous season and the first of the next. “I pushed hard from the start, but when I saw others around me I tried to relax. In the final I tried to hold back a bit to be able to give everything in the last sector and I managed to bring the result home that I wanted.”

The Spaniard led the race almost from the start Aaron Canet as his only real opponent; the driver of the Estrella Galicia team remained intelligent until the end on Martin’s whistles, could not get the victory on the home straight by a few thousandths. “I’m very happy with the end result – says Canet – although I needed a bit more on the straight. In the first part I stayed at the back of the group and then pulled the pen. My strategy was to pass Martin on the straight, but I didn’t manage to do that; Anyway it’s the first race so I’m happy with the position”.

His first podium was completed by Lorenzo Dalla Porta, skilfully edged out a tight pack of opponents on his debut with Team Leopard on a mad final lap in full Moto3 style. “Last year was tough for me but today everything is fantastic. At the next race I want to stay with the leaders; We will pick up from here to keep making it better. I want to sincerely thank everyone, starting with the team.”

Another Italian landed at the foot of the podium, namely Niccolò Antonelli who, after a back-and-forth, managed to come back and miss the podium by just a few thousandths. Behind number 23 were Rodrigo and Di Giannantonio, who made a great comeback from 16th on the grid. Toba, Sasaki, Kornfeil and Migno, who celebrated his Team Aspar debut, landed behind the Römer.

Marco Bezzecchi has something to complain about at the end after falling in the fight for the podium, but he still managed to finish 14th, while Enea Bastianini didn’t finish: Number 33 had remained in the lead with Martin and Canet until she retired at turn six in the first quarter of the race. The same fate for Nicolò Bulegacrashed at turn two midway through the race while Foggia and Arbolino finished 16th and 17th respectively.