Leopard Racing’s Angel Piqueras took a stunning Misano Moto3 victory over Tech3’s Dani Holgado despite serving a double long-lap penalty.
A photo-finish separated the Spanish duo as Piqueras crossed the line 0.035s clear of Holgado in second.
David Alonso got a good start from pole, but the Leopard of Piqueras got the jump from fourth on the grid and was able to swoop around the outside of the front row starters Luca Lunetta and Ivan Ortola, as well as poleman Alonso, to take the lead.
An incident further back in the field saw Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz, CIP’s Ricciardo Rossi and Aragon winner Jose Antonio Rueda crash out of the race at Turn 1, with CF Moto’s Joel Esteban and MT Helmets’ Ryusei Yamanaka also running off into the gravel.
Piqueras looked to break out front knowing he would have to take a double long lap for a crash with Scott Ogden in practice, but he was being followed by Ortola and Holgado, who were looking to close the gap to CF Moto’s Alonso in the championship.
Holgado made the first move to overtake Piqueras for the lead as the trio looked to extend their margin over the duelling Lunetta and Alonso behind.
There was impending heartbreak for Lunetta, as the stewards ruled that he had made a jump start, along with Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez, and both received double long-lap penalties, putting an end to their chances of victory.
Piqueras dropped out of leading contention as both Leopard riders opted to take their long laps on Lap 3 – the Spaniard rejoined in 15th after completing his penalty, still running as the fastest rider on track.
Lunetta opted to take his long lap on Lap 4, which left Ortola and Holgado as the leading duo with a 1.6 second advantage over the chasing pack led by Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato.
Furusato was leading the fight for third over Australian Joel Kelso and Alonso, with Alonso taking the pair in an effort to close the gap to the leading duo.
It wasn’t long until the lead group became a group of five as Furusato overtook Alonso and Holgado in quick succession to move up to second.
Holgado retook Furusato to restore his second place a lap later, though Furusato would repay the favour as the two continued to tussle for second behind Ortola.
Alonso looked to stake his claim for victory on Lap 16, as he overtook Furusato and Holgado to get up to second and chase after Ortola.
Alonso then took Ortola at the start of Lap 17 and looked to break away from Furusato and Holgado as the duo continued their battle.
The battles out front brought Piqueras back into contention, as he overtook Collin Veijer, Kelso and Ortola to put himself in contention for the lead.
Piqueras forced Furusato into a mistake as he advanced onto the podium and was chasing down Holgado and Alonso on the final lap.
The Leopard rider was clearly the fastest out of the leading pack, and his pace advantage saw him overtake Alonso for the lead.
The battles raged on in the top three, but contact between Alonso and Holgado saw the Colombian relegated to sixth, and he would be demoted a further place to seventh following a post-race penalty.
Holgado refused to give up the chase and had a better exit out of the final corner but it was Piqueras who took the flag for his first win in the Moto3 class, as Ortola rounded out the podium.
Furusato came over the line in fourth while Husqvarna’s Veijer was fifth, ahead of the duelling Kelso in sixth and championship leader Alonso in seventh.
Veijer’s Husqvarna team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki took eighth with Lunetta and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Filippo Farioli completing the top-10.
Snipers’ David Almansa missed out on the top-10 by less than a tenth of a second, with Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone just a few tenths behind him in 12th.
Fernandez’s long-lap penalty resigned him to 13th place with Stefano Nepa and MLAV Racings Ogden rounding out the points-paying positions.
