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Moto3 Race: Romano Fenati conquers America

Victory for Romano Fenati who hadn't won since last year's French Grand Prix at Le Mans. A seventh career win for him. Binder closes third and retains championship lead

Moto3 Race: Romano Fenati conquers America

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"I believed I could do it, I pushed, I made it...I had great feeling with my KTM!" With just a few, concise words, the winner summed up his perfect race on American soil.

THE RACE - Oil on the track delayed the race start but there were doubts as to who had left the liquid on track. It was suggested that it was a Supersport taking part in the MotoAmerica championship. but they ran their race on Saturday or rather yesterday,  so is it possible that all three warm-ups took place this morning without Race Direction noticing the spillage?! None of the riders across the three classes spoke of any problems or slippery black patches, so it's more likely that it was one of the cars that took part in the parade immediately prior to the Moto3…

Poleman Philip Oettl got away well but it was Navarro who took the early lead with his Honda as he strove to find the pace shown in warm-up. Oettl followed the Spaniard with SkyVR46 rider Romano Fenati with the factory KTM bringing up the rear of this leading group. At the end of lap one, Malaysian Norrodin crashed out at turn 1, but was fortunately unhurt.

Stands out in the chasing group included Brad Binder, climbing up to fourth place, and also Niccolò Antonelli, who moved from 30th up to nineteenth.

By lap three, Navarro had already built a lead thanks to his consistently fast pace, with only Fenati able to try and match it, catching Oettl in the process; Niccolò Bulega was proving fast in tenth, chasing down Andrea Locatelli.

On lap five Fenati started to push hard to catch Navarro while, behind them, contact between Mir and Darrin Binder ruled both out of the race.

Despite Navarro completing several laps on the limit, he couldn't fend off Fenny's attack, with the Italian taking the lead on lap eight through a tight uphill left-hand chicane. The KTM engine demonstrates significant speed between fourth and sixth gear, also making for impressive top speed. Incredible tenth for Antonelli, powering his Honda through the turns and also making the most of the medium Dunlop tyre..

Seven laps from the end Fabio Quartararo moved ahead of Oettl to take third, but the German didn't give up, making for a real duel for the lowest step of the rostrum.

A mistake for Navarro on lap eleven allowed Fenati, increasingly sure of himself, to get away, while Locatelli (team Leopard) was lapping sixth and Antonelli eighth.

Four laps from the end Romano had a 2”8 second lead over Navarro. Antonelli reached Bastianini and Aaron Canet, with the trio passing and repassing each other. A technical problem saw Quartararo lose a possible podium and allow Oettl to move up while a crash for Antonelli put paid to what had been a phenomenal recovery up to that point.

The final lap concluded with Romano Fenati way out front, Navarro crossing the line in second and the third spot for South African Brad Binder, very solid in the USA and retaining his championship lead thanks to this latest result.

Classification: Binder 52 points, Navarro 49, Fenati 38 and Antonelli 31.

Translated by Heather Watson
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