Jorge Martin takes 12th in Sepang, Juanfran Guevara takes 20th

The most in-form rider of the second half of the Moto3 season took another victory at Sepang today that keeps the championship alive until the final round in Valencia.

Miguel Oliveira pushed hard from the start to try and break the field in the early laps, forming a lead group of just seven riders after five laps. Fenati and Bagnaia put up the strongest challenge and although the pace wasn’t as hot as the conditions a new circuit record was set (2’13.571).

Oliveira hung on to take his second straight win, with Danny Kent’s seventh place leaving the gap at 24 points, making for a final-round shootout in a fortnight’s time.

MAPFRE Team Mahindra youngster Jorge Martín contested his first Moto3 race in the gruelling conditions of Malaysia, staying on board after an early scare to gather valuable experience and points.

Juanfran Guevara produced eighteen determined laps to bring his bike home in 20th position after struggling to find a set-up all weekend.

12th Jorge Martín:
“The heat has affected us all weekend and with three races in as many weekends this has not been easy. Despite everything, in general the race was quite positive. I started well, passed a few riders and I was in the lead group but then I had a scare, lost the rear and lost touch. I got passed back by a couple of riders and the race was tough from that point on. A group caught me and I decided to let them pass, save my tyres and try to attack at the end. The heat made it tough but to be honest I thought it would be worse. Still, I feel like I need to train even harder in the winter and come back fitter next season. I am happy with the work we have done here and I am looking forward to going home now and getting ready for the last race of the season in Valencia”.

20th Juanfran Guevara:
“We have had a lot of setbacks this weekend so we made another big change to the bike for the race and took a gamble on the soft tyre. It is so hot here it is hard to work on the set-up and over three days here we haven’t found an answer. It has been a tough Grand Prix so we have to put it behind us now and start thinking about Valencia, where I want to finish the season with a good result. It will be my last race with MAPFRE Team Mahindra and I want to sign off on a positive note.”

Source: Aspar