“Another race lost to injury” for Aspar’s Jorge Martin

The Grand Prix of Japan featured drama from the start of the Moto3 race, when a collision between Jorge Navarro and another rider left the Spaniard out of the race along with two rivals on the first lap.

That left the way open for Enea Bastianini to take a huge step towards the runner-up spot in the championship, the Italian forming part of a lead group that included Brad Binder, Andrea Migno, Nicolò Bulega, Hiroki Ono and Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar rider Pecco Bagnaia.

Lap by lap the contenders dropped off to leave Bastianini and Binder to fight for the win, the Italian snatching it by just 0.017 seconds after the South African had led for much of the race. The fight for third place was won by local favourite Ono after a battle with Bulega and Migno, who crashed out.

Aspar riders Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín both produced a stunning first lap, the Italian making up nine positions to settle into the lead group in third as the Spaniard made no fewer than thirteen overtakes to establish himself in the top ten. However, neither rider was able to hang on to their new positions, with Bagnaia sticking it out in the lead group until the final few laps when his tyres finally gave up, dropping him back to sixth.

Martín’s crash in free practice on Friday has hindered him all weekend, with a leg injury allowing for just a handful of laps in practice and qualifying and finally proving too much to cope with after nine laps of today’s race.

Jorge Martín (DNF):
“It is a shame but in the end it is another race lost to injury. I felt good at the start and I was fast, I had made up thirteen positions from my place on the grid but in the end I had no other choice but to pull in from the pain. I also already run wide in one corner because I found a false neutral. It’s a shame and it is hard because you feel powerless but we just have to try and get to Australia in good shape.”

Source: Aspar Media