Joan Mir bets big to win big at Catalunya
Mallorca’s talent wins with an incredible move at the last turn of the Grand Prix de Catalunya at Montmelo, capturing his fourth victory of the season and increasing his world championship lead.
At 11 o’clock local time, the lights went out at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, scene of the seventh race of the 2017 season. The duo of the Leopard Racing Team started from the second and eighth row with respectively Joan Mir and Livio Loi. All eyes were on the leader of the Moto3 class, here at Montmelò , his home race.
At the first curve, the talent of Palma de Mallorca came to the forefront with rival Fenati, chased by Canet, who came through with the Italian at the first pass. Mir stood tall in the top six – able to lead the small breakaway group, who in the fourth lap had already created quite the gap.
Joan Mir remained right in contention throughout. The Spaniard was focused and continued in the middle of the race to push for the podium positions. In the second part, overtaking started to become more common, tactics becoming crucial. Ramirez also joined the company by pushing to the limit and taking advantage of the slipstream.
On the last lap, Martin and Fenati tried to push ahead, but Mir fended off Bastianini and chased after them. When the Italian was about to launch the attack, Mir put him on the inside without hesitation. In the last chicane before the finish line, he made a surprise move which can only be described as a masterpiece to pass Martin, going on to seize his fourth win in seven races. Thanks to this success, Palma de Mallorca’s talent strengthens his leadership in the world rankings (133 points), extending the gap back to his rivals.
#36 Joan MIR – 1st:
“I’m so happy for this victory! I’m also happy with my race management, a long and difficult race, especially in the heat. In the first laps I did not feel comfortable with the new rubber, but with each lap I gained more confidence. In the last round I saw that Fenati and Martin were running away, but I went immediately past Bastianini and in the second sector I had already recovered everything. I was at the limit and my bike protested, I also passed Fenati and I wanted to take Martin: I knew he would close the door in the chicane. I came in direct and I’m glad I passed right at that point, I almost blew it! Performing overtaking victory in that corner, where Luis [Salom] passed last year, for me it’s a tribute to his memory. I want to remain focused exclusively on this 2017 season and on this Moto3 category until the last race.”
