2012 Moto3
The debut of the new Moto3 category in the World Championship delivered an excellent spectacle as Maverick Viñales (Blusens Avintia) took victory in the first race of the evening at Losail International Circuit, Qatar.
The Spaniard, who won the last two 125cc races of the two-stroke machine era and was the Rookie of the Year in 2011, was followed across the line by debutant Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI) who scored a podium in his first ever Grand Prix start.
The young Italian led the race for the opening six laps before Viñales overtook him, and the pair traded places again before the more experienced Viñales – still only 17 and now the second-youngest rider in history to have won three successive Grands Prix – pulled away to win by a margin of 4.3 seconds.
The displays of Viñales and 16 year-old Fenati were hugely impressive, and as the pair rode out front for the majority of the 18-lap race a thrilling battle for the third and final podium position raged behind.
In the end it was pole position starter Sandro Cortese (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who prevailed after an intense five-way fight with, in order of their final race positions, Luis Salom (RW Racing GP), Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0’0), Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Airasia-SIC-Ajo) and rookie Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Each of the four and Cortese had looked like taking third in an open race, before the German managed his drive out of the last corner on the final lap perfectly to beat Salom.
Completing the top 10 were British rider Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Frenchman Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany) and another rookie, Spanish prospect Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0’0).
It was a special evening for new talent on the World Championship stage as Alan Techer (Technomag-CIP-TSR) registered points on his GP debut by taking 11th, with Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar Team), Niklas Ajo (TT Motion Events Racing), Alberto Moncayo (Bankia Aspar Team) and Jakub Kornfeil (Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta) also scoring as they completed the top 15 riders across the finish line.
The MotoGP World Championship returns to action in just under three weeks, for the Gran Premio bwin de España at Jerez, which takes place from April 27-29.
2012 Qatar Moto3 Results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Blusens Avintia | FTR Honda | 150.2 | 38’40.995 |
| 2. | 20 | 5 | Romano FENATI | ITA | Team Italia FMI | FTR Honda | 149.9 | +4.301 |
| 3. | 16 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE | GER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 149.0 | +18.013 |
| 4. | 13 | 39 | Luis SALOM | SPA | RW Racing GP | Kalex KTM | 149.0 | +18.200 |
| 5. | 11 | 44 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | POR | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Suter Honda | 149.0 | +18.745 |
| 6. | 10 | 63 | Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN | MAL | AirAsia-Sic-Ajo | KTM | 149.0 | +19.052 |
| 7. | 9 | 61 | Arthur SISSIS | AUS | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 149.0 | +19.466 |
| 8. | 8 | 52 | Danny KENT | GBR | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 148.9 | +21.098 |
| 9. | 7 | 96 | Louis ROSSI | FRA | Racing Team Germany | FTR Honda | 148.8 | +21.153 |
| 10. | 6 | 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Suter Honda | 148.4 | +28.733 |
| 11. | 5 | 89 | Alan TECHER | FRA | Technomag-CIP-TSR | TSR Honda | 148.3 | +29.775 |
| 12. | 4 | 55 | Hector FAUBEL | SPA | Bankia Aspar Team | Kalex KTM | 148.3 | +29.813 |
| 13. | 3 | 31 | Niklas AJO | FIN | TT Motion Events Racing | KTM | 147.9 | +35.940 |
| 14. | 2 | 23 | Alberto MONCAYO | SPA | Bankia Aspar Team | Kalex KTM | 147.9 | +35.983 |
| 15. | 1 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta | FTR Honda | 147.7 | +38.641 |
| 16. | 7 | Efren VAZQUEZ | SPA | JHK T-Shirt Laglisse | Honda | 147.6 | +40.219 | |
| 17. | 27 | Niccolo ANTONELLI | ITA | San Carlo Gresini Moto3 | Honda | 147.0 | +50.629 | |
| 18. | 99 | Danny WEBB | GBR | Mahindra Racing | Mahindra | 146.7 | +54.751 | |
| 19. | 21 | Ivan MORENO | SPA | Andalucia JHK Laglisse | FTR Honda | 146.7 | +54.989 | |
| 20. | 26 | Adrian MARTIN | SPA | JHK T-Shirt Laglisse | Honda | 146.1 | +1’05.183 | |
| 21. | 51 | Kenta FUJII | JPN | Technomag-CIP-TSR | TSR Honda | 145.1 | +1’21.239 | |
| 22. | 15 | Simone GROTZKYJ | ITA | Ambrogio Next Racing | Oral | 144.3 | +1’35.791 | |
| 23. | 9 | Toni FINSTERBUSCH | GER | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | MZ-RE Honda | 143.9 | +1’41.291 | |
| 24. | 53 | Jasper IWEMA | NED | Moto FGR | FGR Honda | 143.2 | +1’54.293 | |
| 25. | 8 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Caretta Technology | Honda | 139.9 | 1 Lap | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 94 | Jonas FOLGER | GER | IodaRacing Project | Ioda | 143.5 | 7 Laps | ||
| 3 | Luigi MORCIANO | ITA | Ioda Team Italia | Ioda | 142.9 | 11 Laps | ||
| 41 | Brad BINDER | RSA | RW Racing GP | Kalex KTM | 147.3 | 12 Laps | ||
| 77 | Marcel SCHROTTER | GER | Mahindra Racing | Mahindra | 145.7 | 13 Laps | ||
| 10 | Alexis MASBOU | FRA | Caretta Technology | Honda | 0 Lap | |||
| 19 | Alessandro TONUCCI | ITA | Team Italia FMI | FTR Honda | 0 Lap | |||
| 32 | Isaac VIÑALES | SPA | Ongetta-Centro Seta | FTR Honda | 0 Lap | |||
