At the Thai GP in Buriram, world champion David Alonso achieved a season-long record 12th Moto3 victory.
Last weekend, the Colombian tied Valentino Rossi’s record for the most victories in the lightweight class at Phillip Island, but Alonso’s triumph in Buriram puts him alone in the record books. Rain in the vicinity caused the race to be cut down to 12 circuits before it started, leaving the riders to decide which tires to use. Joel Kelso, the polesitter, had a great start and managed to hold Collin Veijer’s lead into the first corner.
World champion Alonso moved up to second place on the third lap, while Veijer passed Kelso to take control of the top group of seven. Spots of rain appeared, and the red and white flags began to wave, allowing Alonso to pass Veijer and grab the lead. As the leading pack kept vying for position, Taiyo Furusato was able to go forward and close the gap to the 10-rider group by six tenths.
In order to get closer to Furusato, the champion raced ahead of the pack and established a lap record. He then managed to pass the Japanese rider and recover the lead. Angel Piqueras and Adrian Fernandez, two of Leopard’s competitors, both left the race on the last lap after colliding, despite their maintained outstanding performance in the flyaways. On the last circuit, Alonso lost the lead to Ivan Ortola, but he was able to catch up quickly as the five riders raced to the finish line.
Alonso secured his 12th victory of the season by maintaining his position into the last corner. Luca Lunetta, Veijer, and Furusato fought for the final two positions on the podium, trailing the world champion in the battle for the podium. Although Lunetta managed to hold onto second place, Veijer took third place after a collision with Furusato caused the Japanese rider to crash out before taking the flag.
Furusato was put back in fifth place after Ortola ran wide at the last turn and ended up in fourth place. Kelso finished in seventh place, while David Munoz led the two Boe Motorsport bikes across the finish line in sixth. Tatsuki Suzuki completed the top ten, and Scott Ogden crossed the finish line in eighth place, ahead of Stefano Nepa in ninth. Ryusei Yamanaka took the flag in eleventh place, just ahead of Riccardo Rossi in thirteenth and Dani Holgado in twelveth. Jose Antonio Rueda finished the points race in 15th place, while Filippo Farioli was in 14th place.