Raul Fernandéz takes points at Valencia, DNF for Albert Arenas

The last Moto3 race of the 2018 season was a crash-filled contest in Valencia, which only twenty riders were able to finish. The first to take the chequered flag in the wet race was debuting wildcard Can Oncu, who became the youngest winner of a World Championship race. World Champion Jorge Martín and John McPhee joined him on the podium. Fabio di Giannantonio, in fourth, took second place in overall standings.

The Valresa Ángel Nieto Team closed the season with two of their three riders in the points, and Albert Arenas crashing out when in sixth. Raul Fernandez, who was competing for the last time as a wildcard rider before joining the team on a fulltime basis in 2019, crashed on Lap 5, and the 17 seconds lost in the incident cost him a place in the Top 10. Eventually he would climb to 12+1st place.

Albert Arenas was not able to finish the race, after a crash when in sixth place. He concludes the year ninth in the World Championship. The Valresa Ángel Nieto Team claimed fourth in the team standings.

12 + 1 Raúl Fernández:
“From the first lap onwards, I didn’t feel very comfortable on the bike. It was not like yesterday or like this morning in the warmup. I started strong, but on the first lap I had a scare that held me back. I was able to recover but another scare lost me places. The team had asked me to stay calm, but I wanted to be up at the front from the beginning. It always leaves a bad taste in your mouth after you’ve done well all weekend, but it’s my last Grand Prix with the Junior Team and this result is for them. Next week is the important one for us, because we will be fighting for the Moto3 Junior World Championship title.”

Albert Arenas (DNF):
“It’s a shame to end the season with a crash, but I’m happy because -even though I found it hard to find a feeling in the wet- in the race I was at the front. I was a bit on the limit and I fell at Turn 4 when braking. I lost the front end and my handlebar broke, preventing me from continuing. Now it’s time to think about 2019.”