Jaume Masiá secured the Moto3 world championship title last Sunday but didn’t escape controversy. In the Qatar GP race, on more than one occasion, he displayed very aggressive riding while battling his main rival, Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), and received assistance from his teammate at Leopard Racing, Adrián Fernández.

Sasaki and his team strongly criticized Masiá, but they weren’t the only ones. Former rider Mick Doohan also commented on the situation, responding to a Instagram post by Sasaki:

– I’m in shock, no penalty for the riding standards shown by the winning rider, and team. Racing should be hard, but fair, the winner did not win on talent, he knew he didn’t have your talent. Sensational ride Sasaki, you gave it all.

O conteúdo ‘I’m in shock; Jaume Masiá didn’t win on talent’ – Mick Doohan aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The defeat in the Moto3 World Championship didn’t sit well with Ayumu Sasaki. The Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP rider wasn’t able to keep the title fight until the end, witnessing Jaume Masiá clinching the championship at yesterday’s Qatar GP. And it happened in a way that left him displeased to the point of not congratulating his rival.

Quoted by the website Motosan.es, the Japanese rider lamented the move by Masiá’s teammate at Leopard Racing, Adrián Fernández: ‘Masiá… one or two times he was quite aggressive at turn six. But that was ok. Suddenly his teammate came in the middle; we lost everything four laps from the end. He slowed down in the middle of the track, and the gap to the front group increased’.

Sasaki believes that this wasn’t the right way to decide the title, so he didn’t congratulate Masiá, even mentioning a shameful situation: ‘I wanted to fight correctly with Masiá because if I had lost fairly, I would have understood and congratulated him. If everything had gone to Valencia, it would have been fine. But losing like this, I think I didn’t lose fairly. So, I can’t congratulate him because this is a shame, but it is what it is’.

O conteúdo Ayumu Sasaki didn’t congratulate Jaume Masiá: ‘This is a shame’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá clinched the Moto3 world championship title this Sunday. He achieved it with a victory at the Qatar GP in Losail, where he faced strong opposition.

The Leopard Racing Spanish rider appeared in the official broadcast interview in tears of joy, finding it hard to express himself moments after becoming the champion. Masiá stated:

– I’m not believing now. What to say? I just want to say thanks to my team, thank you one more time for believing in me. That’s it, we are world champions. I’m really happy.

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá emotional after the title: ‘What to say? That’s it, we are world champions’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá is the new Moto3 world champion. The rider who led the championship arrived at the Qatar GP with the chance to seal the title and succeeded. In a fiercely contested race with several riders fighting for top positions as usual, the Spanish rider managed the events well and, despite some aggression, had the skill to attack at the right moment and take the lead.

At the start, Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) made the holeshot to place himself first ahead of pole position holder Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) was in third before being overtaken by Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM). The Brazilian took the lead in the first lap. Meanwhile, Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) progressed from tenth to eighth.

Öncü’s start seemed too good to be true and, indeed, it was: the Turkish rider made a jump start, receiving a penalty of two Long Laps, which dropped him from the leading positions. Position swaps were constant at the front during this initial phase. After two laps, Masiá was already in fourth. During the third lap, there was a dispute with Sasaki, in an aggressive move that led the Japanese rider to drop to eighth.

Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM) was also in the mix and leading with 11 laps to go, with Masiá in second. Sasaki recovered to third and even took the lead shortly after. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM) was also in contention. With nine laps remaining, Moreira was out of contention after a crash… in an incident that was Ortolá’s fault, earning him a penalty of two Long Laps.

The laps passed and the outcome wasn’t clear, with constant position changes and even more riders joining the front battle, such as Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) and Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda). After the penalty, Öncü also managed to get back in touch.

Three laps from the end, a situation emerged in the classification that would give Masiá the title, as he led and saw Sasaki drop to seventh. The Japanese rider completely lost the lead group and even dropped to ninth before starting to recover. However, he had to reach fourth considering Masiá was leading and distancing himself from Alonso.

The Spaniard clinched victory 68 milliseconds ahead of the Colombian and thus became champion: Sasaki tried hard to recover to the top three, but on the last lap, he collided with one of the rivals in front, dropping from fifth to sixth. Öncü completed the podium, with Rossi in fourth and Vicente Pérez (BOE Motorsports/KTM) surprising in fifth.

Results:

O conteúdo Here is the new champion! Jaume Masiá shines in the Losail night, winning, and getting the title aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá is on the brink of becoming the Moto3 world champion. This Sunday marks his first «match point» at the Qatar GP, although it won’t be an easy task.

The Spanish rider’s main contender is Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), who will start from fourth. Meanwhile, the Leopard Racing rider will line up from tenth. It’s worth noting that qualifying isn’t always decisive in Moto3, as extensive groups often compete for top positions throughout much of the race.

To become champion this Sunday, Masiá needs to finish in the top four of the race. His chances then depend on Sasaki’s result. Here are the possibilities:

Jaume Masiá will be crowned champion at the Qatar GP if:

• He wins and Ayumu Sasaki doesn’t reach the podium
• He finishes second and Ayumu Sasaki places eighth or worse
• He secures third place and Ayumu Sasaki finishes at best in 12th
• He finishes fourth and Ayumu Sasaki doesn’t go beyond 15th.

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá can be the Moto3 world champion this Sunday – find out how aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Daniel Holgado got to secure the first starting position of the season so far in this Moto3 season. The pole position came after ‘a few difficult races’, with the rider saying ‘the feeling’ has returned.

In a team statement, the Red Bull KTM Tech3 youngster said:

–This is my first pole position this year so I am really happy to finally take one this season. We went through a few difficult races lately, but the feeling is finally back, and it will give me confidence to start from the first position. I have to say thank you to Filippo because we worked well together again, it was amazing. I am ready for the fight tomorrow, thanks to my team!

O conteúdo Daniel Holgado secured first pole position this year: ‘A few difficult races lately, but the feeling is finally back’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Daniel Holgado has returned to pole positions in Moto3, for the first time since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix. The rider was the strongest in the qualifying session for the Qatar GP this Saturday.

After the first flying laps, Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) led with a 0.170s gap over Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM), with Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) in third.

Despite not improving his time, Bertelle held onto the lead but came under pressure from Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo)… before the Turk took the lead six minutes before the checkered flag.

Later on, Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) also overtook Bertelle to claim second place. There was still plenty of time left, and the standings could still change. Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) moved up to the top two positions, respectively.

Nothing changed until the end, with Holgado securing the pole position just three milliseconds ahead of Moreira. Öncü finished third, Sasaki in fourth, and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) in fifth. The championship leader, Masiá, will start only in tenth place, putting him in a less favorable position to secure the title tomorrow.

Q2 results:

Overall results of the qualifying:

O conteúdo Daniel Holgado secures his first pole position of the season at the Moto3 Qatar GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The final four qualifiers for the second qualifying in the Moto3 Qatar Grand Prix have been determined. Filippo Farioli led the way in Q1 at Losail and secured qualification alongside three other riders.

Farioli (Red Bull KTM Tech3) took the lead in the first few moments, but with only eight minutes remaining, most riders had not yet set lap times. At that point, the qualifying positions were held by Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) in first, ahead of David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports/KTM), Farioli, and Syarifuddin Azman (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM).

Azman was then overtaken by Adrián Fernández (Leopard Racing/Honda), who became the fourth-placed rider just over five minutes before the end.

Only in the final minute were there more changes. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) took the lead, but Farioli quickly overtook him. Bertelle dropped to third, and Muñoz to fourth. With his final lap, Fernández moved into second place, securing his qualification. Furusato settled in third, and Bertelle claimed fourth, also advancing to Q2. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse/Honda) improved towards the end but finished fifth, 0.117s away from qualification.

Results:

O conteúdo Filippo Farioli set the pace in the Moto3 Qatar Grand Prix Q1 and advances to Q2 with three other riders aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Deniz Öncü dominated the third Moto3 practice session at the Qatar GP, held this Saturday at Losail. The Turkish rider led for most of the session, which saw almost all riders set their best times.

Initially, Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) took the lead. After being overtaken by Vicente Pérez (BOE Motorsports/KTM) and Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the experienced Italian regained the top spot on the timesheets.

However, Öncü claimed the lead once again. Although momentarily surpassed by Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) around the 28-minute mark, Öncü secured the session’s top position with two fast laps at the end. David Alonso (Gaviota GasGas Aspar) finished second, improving his time late in the session to be 0.206s slower than Öncü.

Holgado took third place, ahead of the main championship contenders: Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) and the championship leader, Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda). Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team/Honda) secured the final direct spot in the second qualifying round in 14th place. Syarifuddin Azman (MT Helmets-MSi/KTM) missed out on this goal by 0.205s, finishing 15th.

Combined standings P1 + P2 + P3:

O conteúdo Clear domination by Deniz Öncü in the third Moto3 practice in Qatar aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jaume Masiá ended this Friday as the fastest man at the Moto3 Qatar GP. The best lap times of the day came under the lights at Losail.

Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM) initially led the session, ahead of Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) then took charge, with Öncü improving to hold onto second place. It’s worth noting that the times were already faster than those in the previous session.

As Masiá solidified his position, Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) became his main rival, eventually overtaking him about 21 minutes from the checkered flag. With eight minutes left, Fenati was momentarily overtaken by Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) but quickly reclaimed the lead. Shortly after, Masiá set the first sub-2m06s lap time. Traffic with several riders on the track became a challenge at this stage.

Nothing changed at the top until the end. Masiá secured the lead with a time of 2m06.794s, beating Fenati by 0.546s. Veijer took third, followed by Ivan Ortolá (Angeluss MTA Team/KTM) and Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team/Honda) completing the top five. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), Masiá’s main championship rival, finished eighth. Öncü, who led the first session, ended up in 14th place.

Combined standings P1 + P2:

O conteúdo Jaume Masiá outpaced rivals in the second practice session of the Moto3 Qatar GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.