Strong #EuropeanGP for Stefano Nepa, but a disastrous day for Albert Arenas

Four of the candidates for the Moto3 category title have experienced a difficult day today at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit due to various crashes that mark the end of the season. The first to crash was Celestino Vietti, in the second lap and when he was second in the race. The leader of the World Championship, Albert Arenas, was involved in that crash. Despite everything, he was able to enter the garage and with the help of his team, he fixed the bike to be able to get back on track. However, he has subsequently been disqualified on his tenth lap. Previously, John McPhee had crashed and Jaume Masiá had done the same in the middle of a comeback from 28th to 16th place. The victory of Raúl Fernández, ahead of Sergio García and Ai Ogura, leaves Albert Arenas first in the standings, with the Japanese within 3 points with fifty to go. Vietti remains third at 20 points, with Tony Arbolino fourth at 23 and Jaume Masiá fifth at 24. The Valresa Aspar Team rider will arrive at the second race in Valencia with mathematical (albeit remote) options of getting the title.

Stefano Nepa has achieved his best result in the World Championship on an unfortunate day for Albert Arenas. The Italian, who had been eighth in Thailand in 2019, finished seventh in an eventful race in which he was able to come back from twenty-fourth. For the Moto3 riders, the race was the second session of the weekend on a dry track, after the warm-up session in the morning. Nepa took advantage of that morning session to fine-tune his KTM for the race and, in the race, he set a better pace than many of his rivals. His teammate Albert Arenas was unable to complete a good race on a day in which he was the fastest rider on the track. The World Championship leader was competing in the leading group when Celestino Vietti crashed in front of him and, in that incident, a touch with another rider broke various components of the bike. Arenas has entered the garage to repair his motorcycle and has returned to the track with three lost laps. The Valresa Aspar Team rider set the fastest lap of the race on his return to the track (1:39.030), but received a disqualification that ended his race.

7th Stefano Nepa (+16,719):
“I believed in myself at all times and I finished seventh, my best result so far. I’m happy with the position, the pace and how I managed the race. This morning, in the dry, from the first moment I had good feelings. We still had a bit to improve, but I was pretty fast. From the 24th position on the grid it was not easy to come back, because at the beginning there was a lot of trouble behind, but as soon as I had a clear path in front of me, I saw that my pace was good and I was getting closer to the riders in front. I want to thank the team for having achieved an optimal bike, my sponsors and my family.”

Albert Arenas:
“We had a good start; we had done our homework in the warm-up session and we were competitive. In the second lap Vietti made a mistake and I was clever and I was able to avoid it. At that moment I felt like it was a victory, but a second later a rider from behind collided with me and broke my bike. I could not have done anything. I went into the garage pissed off, but the team tried to calm me. We had to get back on track, in case there was a red flag. I have returned to the track, but the rear brake was not working well, until I understood well how the bike worked and how I should ride it. At that point I started to ride at my own pace and catch the group in front. I felt good and I set the fastest lap of the race. When they gave me the blue flag, I let the rider behind me pass. Then they showed me the black flag and I stopped. At all times I have followed the instructions. I couldn’t do anything else. There will be people who will understand that, who will appreciate the fact that we have fought to the end and who will appreciate what it takes to fight for a title. We have shown that we are fast, all the details count and being strong in this race gives me strength for the next one. I feel bad not having been able to compete today and not having been able to fight for the World Championship on the track, with my rivals. We will think soon about the next race.”