Albert Arenas 20th and DNF for Raul Fernandez at Valencia season-closer
The Moto3 World Championship had a few more surprises in store at the final round of the season, the first one coming on the warm-up lap when a breakdown left oil on the track and delayed the start. Then a multiple-rider crash on the third lap saw the red flags brought out, before a second start and a fifteen-lap race saw even more crashes and a lead group featuring Sergio García, Andrea Migno, Xavi Artigas, Tatsuki Suzuki and Filip Salac.
Local hero García came out on top of the battle with Migno to win by just 0.005 seconds, with wildcard entry Artigas finishing on the podium in his first ever Grand Prix. Aron Canet defended the championship runner-up position in his final Moto3 race before stepping up to Moto2 next season with the Ángel Nieto Team.
Albert Arenas set a strong pace as he signed off from a rollercoaster season that has featured a win, three podiums and eleventh in the championship. The Valresa Ángel Nieto Team rider started from 20th on the grid and was up to ninth when the race was red-flagged. He got another good start in the restart but crashed out when trying to recover more positions, returning to the track to set the same pace as the front group and proving that he could have been fighting for the win in the final race of the season.
Raúl Fernández’s first full season as a World Championship rider also ended with a crash, the rider who won the 2018 Moto3 Junior World Championship with the Ángel Nieto Team having felt confident of running at the front but unable to do so in this last race
20th Albert Arenas:
“I was really looking forward to the race after the warm-up and I wanted to make up positions quickly. I pushed a bit too hard because the front group escaped and I lost the front and crashed. The conditions were difficult, it hasn’t been an easy weekend but overall we are happy with the last part of the season. We started strongly, then we lost our way a little, but when we found it again I grew in belief and worked out how to control my speed. That step forward has helped me to grow and that is the main thing I will take from 2019.”
Raúl Fernández (DNF):
“I felt really good and had strong pace, but the tyre was cold for a long time after the red flag and I couldn’t get it to warm up. When a bunch of riders crashed I knew I could make the gap to the group but instead of relaxing I wanted to push and I crashed. I’m sorry to the team because we could have been fighting for the podium in the last race of the season and I feel bad for that. We didn’t deserve for it to end like this. I want to say thanks to the whole team for three incredible years.”
