John McPhee streaked to his first win of the 2020 Moto3 campaign in the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, while championship leader Albert Arenas crashed out with two laps remaining.
McPhee was forced to fight back from a lowly 17th on the grid after struggling during Saturday qualifying, the Scotsman finding it tough to make much progress in the early stanza as he circulated just outside the top ten.
He began to make ground as the race entered its final third though, the Petronas SRT man taking advantage of several lead riders having to check up to miss a crashing Brad Binder to move into fifth with only a handful of tours to go.
Arenas meanwhile looked good for at least a top five result heading into the final couple of tours, but disaster was just around the corner for the Aspar rider as he lost the rear of his machine over the ripples of Turn 3-sliding out into the gravel and into retirement- therefore giving title rivals Ogura and McPhee the perfect opportunity to close up the points standings.
He then battled with race-long leaders Gabriel Rodrigo, Tatsuki Suzuki and Ai Ogura for supremacy in the closing few laps, McPhee moving into the lead on the run down to Turn 8 for the final time as the few riders in front bashed into each other in order to prevent the slipstream effect.
Suzuki and Ogura looked to be in prime position to deny McPhee as they closed in down the back straight, the latter giving McPhee some respite into Turn 14 as he dived down the inside of his countryman for second.
McPhee’s victory was sealed though as Ogura asked too much of his rear tyre on the exit of the subsequent bend, saving a minor high-side but allowing the leading Honda to just stretch enough of a lead to hold it to the line by just 0.037 over Ogura.
Last year’s Misano Moto3 victor Suzuki completed the podium placings, while Gresini team-mates Jeremy Alcoba and Rodrigo rounded out the top five.
Tony Arbolino brought his Snipers-run Moto3 weapon home sixth ahead of Jaume Masia’s Leopard Racing example, while Romano Fenati scored his best result of what has been a so far difficult year in eighth.
Dennis Foggia was ninth while fellow Italian Andrea Migno completed the top ten for VR46 Racing.
The second VR46 entry and Styrian GP winner Celestino Vietti exited his home race early on after being collected by Raul Fernandez at Turn 4 on the opening lap.
Sergio Garcia was the chief instigator in the incident, the Estrella Galicia man running slightly too fast into the bend, hitting the rear tyre of Fernandez as a result.
The collision caused both to go down, Vietti the innocent victim as Fernandez slid into him.
Both Vietti and Fernandez were forced to retire from the contest as a consequence, while Garcia was able to continue on a long way behind the rest of the field.
Arenas’ late exit means his championship advantage has been severely eroded, Ogura now just five points back while the victorious McPhee moves to within 14 points of the Spaniard.
