David Alonso edges out Colin Veijer to win his fifth Moto3 race of the season at Mugello, while Daniel Holgado was penalised from a Turn 1 collision with a double long slap resulting in him finishing 14th.
Alonso held his position going into the opening corner, with Ivan Ortolá monitoring the Spaniard and determining where to find time on the 18-year-old sensation.
Alonso’s multiple lap record runs across the weekend shows his outright raw speed, but Ortolá was able to stay close in the opening three laps.
A battle for third place saw Veijer use slipstream on his Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP bike down the straight to overtake Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato.
On Lap 4 the race was red flagged due to a dangerous collision between Filippo Farioli and Xabi Zurutuza at the fast Turn 9. Farioli crashed on the racing line and he clattered with Zurutuza’s bike as the Red Bull KTM bike had nowhere to go, causing him to crash into Farioli himself..
Despite the severity of the crash, all riders were conscious as Farioli was taken away on a stretcher by the medical team.
The re-start saw Alonso remain in the lead going into Turn 1 once more, but a collision between Jose Antonio Rueda and Stefano Napa saw them both crash out early on. Holgado appeared to have lost the rear and his bike jolted which put Rueda on the back foot. He was penalised with a double long-lap penalty as a result.
The re-start saw the Moto3 race reduce to only 11 laps. A change in strategy from the leading pack saw Furusato and Veijer overtake Alonso down the straight with the lead group consisting of eight riders.
Alonso chose the outside line into Turn 1 on Lap 3 as he applied strong late braking to restore his lead.
Overtakes from Veijer’s Husqvama and Furusato’s Honda which saw both riders storm past Alonso’s CFMoto Aspar at the long Turn 1.
Alonso’s best efforts elevated himself back into the lead and he formed his biggest lead. However, the straight allowed Veijer to lead proceedings once more on the start of Lap 7.
Holgado’s double long lap penalty demoted him to 17th place and outside of the points.
Veijer lost his lead on Lap 8 which saw him drop down to sixth following the the lead pack being able to all cluster past him.
Alonso utilised this opportunity once he regained the lead to form a gap between himself and the pack, where he established a 0.5s lead with the gap ever increasing as he escaped the slipstream.
Despite dropping back to sixth, Veijer was able to elevate himself back into second and cut the gap to Alonso by setting in fastest lap after fastest lap.
The late pressure from Veijer on Alonso wasn’t quite enough as it was too little to late for the Dutchman, meaning Alonso wins his third race in a row and extends his championship lead even further.
Veijer’s second place elevates him closer to Holgado in the standings, with MT Helmets rider Ryusei Yamanaka sealing third to mark his first rostrum appearance in Moto Grand Prix.
Taiyo Fursato sealed his best finish since the season opener in Qatar with fourth, with David Muñoz and Ortolá sealing the next two positions.
Luca Lunetta brought his Sic58 Squadra Corse bike home in seventh, with Adrian Fernandez missing out by a narrow margin.
Rookie Australian Jacob Roulston followed closely behind in ninth, with Matteo Bertelle securing his best result of the season in tenth.
Angel Piqueras and Joel Kelso followed closely behind, as seventh to 12th finished within half a second of each other.
Riccardo Rossi’s CIP Green Power earns himself his first points finish since Qatar, before Holgado’s attempts to claim points following his penalty put him in 14th.
Rueda recovered from his Turn 1 incident to seal the final point, finishing within 0.060s off Holgado when both riders crossed the line.
