Moto3: Di Giannantonio wins enthralling Thai GP

October 9, 2018

Fabio Di Giannantonio won the Moto3 race at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand on Sunday, in a spectacular race which saw fellow Italians Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi clash at the final corner of the final lap, giving teammate Jorge Martin a 26 point lead in the title.

Di Giannantonio started from row three and 9th on the grid, never dropping below his starting position. The Italian fought his way to the front on lap 8 and immediately started to stretch the large group of riders. However, his lead only lasted for two laps, as on lap 10, Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Ayumu Sasaki and Marco Bezzecchi all got back ahead of the Gresini Racing Honda rider.

As usual in Moto3 though, it all came down to the final few laps and having been no lower than 3rd in the final five laps of the race, ‘Diggia’ pulled the pin on the final lap to beat Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Dennis Foggia – Foggia clinching his first podium in Moto3.

However there was drama behind as Enea Bastianini made a wild move up the inside of Bezzecchi at the final corner, tucking the fronting and wiping out the championship challenger. Bezzecchi had led the race for longer than any other rider and started the final lap in the lead.

Di Giannantonio’s teammate Jorge Martin finished 4th from a 13th place grid start, having been as low as 18th on the opening lap. Martin now leads the championship by 26 points over Bezzecchi but it was Di Giannantonio who made the biggest gains, now just 29 points behind the championship leader and his teammate.

“It was the most difficult race of my career. Temperatures were sky high and it was difficult to stay upright while battling with so many riders for the win. We put our hearts in it and won an extremely important race for our championship hopes. Let’s enjoy this success while we can because we need to be ready for the three back-to-back races if we want to get to Valencia with a shot at the title,” said Di Giannantonio, who has never scored a podium in any of the remaining Grand Prix.