2018 Thailand Moto2 and Moto3 Sunday Results

Michael Scott | October 7, 2018

Moto 2 Race – 24 laps, 109.296 km

Moto2 Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia (No. 42) scored his seventh win of the year Sunday in Buriram. (Gold & Goose photo)

The race was already compelling. Then at the finish it became fascinating – and deeply depressing for the Red Bull KTM teamsters, as championship leader Pecco Bagnaia’s seventh win of the year was in the last lap backed when SKY VR46 Kalex team-mate Luca Marini pushed past into a valuable second place.

Title rival Miguel Oliveira had disputed the lead in the early stages, but suffering brake problems had been obliged to settle for second as Bagnaia took firm control at half distance. Then it became third, costing him another four points.

His Red Bull team-mate Brad Binder had been shadowing him throughout, with each having at least a spell in the lead in the early stages … but he had perforce succumbed to the late-charging Marini on the 22nd lap.

Bagnaia explained that he thought the hot conditions had “made it easier for me. I could see Oliveira was struggling, and I made my move.”

Oliveira was philosophical. “I pushed a lot, but I had a problem with the front brake – the lever was sometimes too close and sometimes so far, so I didn’t know how to adjust it. There are still four races – never give up.”

Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) lost touch after fighting with Marini, and was a lone fourth, ahead of Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Kalex). Pole starter Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons H40 Kalex) crashed out, trying to make up time lost after gear-shifting problems.

American Joe Roberts was 13th on the NTR, claiming his second points of the year.

Bagnaia stretched his advantage over Oliveira to 28 points, with four races left’ Binder’s finish reinforced his third overall ahead of Baldassarri and Alex Marquez (EG-VDS Kalex), who also crashed out for a fourth time in five races.

PTT THAILAND GRAND PRIX
Moto2 Race Classification 2018
Buriram, Sunday, October 07, 2018

1	25	42	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	168.1	39’00.009
2	20	10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	Kalex	168.0	+1.512
3	16	44	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	168.0	+1.651
4	13	41	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	168.0	+1.808
5	11	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	MB Conveyors – Speed Up	Speed Up	167.6	+6.260
6	10	54	Mattia PASINI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	167.3	+11.784
7	9	27	Iker LECUONA	SPA	Swiss Innovative Investors	KTM	167.0	+15.290
8	8	45	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	JPN	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	166.9	+16.903
9	7	5	Andrea LOCATELLI	ITA	Italtrans Racing Team	Kalex	166.8	+18.608
10	6	24	Simone CORSI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	166.6	+21.181
11	5	97	Xavi VIERGE	SPA	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	166.5	+22.021
12	4	87	Remy GARDNER	AUS	Tech 3 Racing	Tech 3	166.4	+23.957
13	3	16	Joe ROBERTS	USA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	166.3	+24.668
14	2	64	Bo BENDSNEYDER	NED	Tech 3 Racing	Tech 3	166.2	+26.302
15	1	66	Niki TUULI	FIN	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Kalex	166.2	+26.817
16		77	Dominique AEGERTER	SWI	Kiefer Racing	KTM	165.9	+30.758
17		9	Jorge NAVARRO	SPA	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	Kalex	165.6	+34.782
18		99	Thitipong WAROKORN	THA	SAG Team	Kalex	165.4	+38.315
19		57	Edgar PONS	SPA	MB Conveyors – Speed Up	Speed Up	165.3	+40.294
20		95	Jules DANILO	FRA	Nashi Argan SAG Team	Kalex	165.2	+40.845
21		89	Khairul Idham PAWI	MAL	IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia	Kalex	165.2	+41.349
22		18	Xavi CARDELUS	AND	Marinelli Snipers Team	Kalex	165.0	+43.908
23		4	Steven ODENDAAL	RSA	NTS RW Racing GP	NTS	164.1	+57.257
24		32	Isaac VIÑALES	SPA	Forward Racing Team	Suter	163.9	+59.207
25		21	Federico FULIGNI	ITA	Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2	Kalex	163.9	+59.383
Not Classified
		22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Swiss Innovative Investors	KTM	166.1	1 Lap
		7	Lorenzo BALDASSARRI	ITA	Pons HP40	Kalex	151.1	14 Laps
		73	Alex MARQUEZ	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex	147.7	18 Laps
		62	Stefano MANZI	ITA	Forward Racing Team	Suter	157.5	23 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
		40	Augusto FERNANDEZ	SPA	Pons HP40	Kalex		0 Lap
		23	Marcel SCHROTTER	GER	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex		0 Lap
		36	Joan MIR	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Kalex		0 Lap

Moto3 – 22 laps, 100.188km

Di Giannantonio, Thailand Moto3 race 2018 — Fabio Di Giannantonio (No. 21) scored the victory in Thailand in the Moto3 race. (Gold & Goose photo)

Put 30 Moto3 rivals into an overheated cake-tin, shake it up for 38 minutes, then see who is on top. And who has fallen out. With long straights keeping the field packed close for the full 22 laps, five or six abreast into the corners, the first race of the day could hardly have been closer.

It brought a second win for Del Conca Gresini Honda rider Fabio Di Giannantonio, second place for Lorenzo Dalla Porto (Leopard Honda), and a classic first podium for rookie Dennis Foggia (SKY VR46 KTM), up from 25th on the grid.

And resentment boiling over for front-running Marco Bezzecchi (Redox Pruestel KTM), who had frequently led and had high hopes of closing the points gap on troubled title leader Jorge Martin. Instead, second Leopard Honda rider Enea Bastianini cut inside him for third into the last corner, only to fall under his wheels, taking both out.

Martin (Del Conca Honda) was struggling with a left hand that had frozen up because a pre-event massage to the wrist, broken five races before at Brno, had trapped a nerve. Not even sure he could start, the last-corner tangle promoted him to a fourth place that extended his points lead over no-score Bezzecchi to 26 points.

PTT THAILAND GRAND PRIX
Moto3 Race Classification 2018
Buriram, Sunday, October 07, 2018

1	25	21	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	ITA	Del Conca Gresini Moto3	Honda	157.4	38’10.789
2	20	48	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	ITA	Leopard Racing	Honda	157.4	+0.135
3	16	10	Dennis FOGGIA	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	157.4	+0.466
4	13	88	Jorge MARTIN	SPA	Del Conca Gresini Moto3	Honda	157.3	+0.980
5	11	19	Gabriel RODRIGO	ARG	RBA BOE Skull Rider	KTM	157.3	+1.084
6	10	77	Vicente PEREZ	SPA	Reale Avintia Academy 77	KTM	157.3	+1.232
7	9	8	Nicolo BULEGA	ITA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	157.3	+1.312
8	8	42	Marcos RAMIREZ	SPA	Bester Capital Dubai	KTM	157.3	+1.440
9	7	35	Somkiat CHANTRA	THA	AP Honda Racing Thailand	Honda	157.3	+1.643
10	6	84	Jakub KORNFEIL	CZE	Redox PruestelGP	KTM	157.3	+1.718
11	5	16	Andrea MIGNO	ITA	Angel Nieto Team Moto3	KTM	157.2	+3.386
12	4	27	Kaito TOBA	JPN	Honda Team Asia	Honda	157.1	+3.613
13	3	65	Philipp OETTL	GER	Sudmetal Schedl GP Racing	KTM	157.1	+4.130
14	2	14	Tony ARBOLINO	ITA	Marinelli Snipers Team	Honda	157.1	+4.319
15	1	7	Adam NORRODIN	MAL	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Honda	157.1	+4.657
16		9	Apiwath WONGTHANANON	THA	VR46 Master Camp Team	KTM	157.1	+4.802
17		5	Jaume MASIA	SPA	Bester Capital Dubai	KTM	157.1	+4.884
18		52	Jeremy ALCOBA	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	155.8	+23.915
19		81	Stefano NEPA	ITA	CIP – Green Power	KTM	155.8	+23.964
20		22	Kazuki MASAKI	JPN	RBA BOE Skull Rider	KTM	153.4	+59.390
		12	Marco BEZZECCHI	ITA	Redox PruestelGP	KTM	152.5	+1’13.285
Not Classified
		33	Enea BASTIANINI	ITA	Leopard Racing	Honda	157.3	1 Lap
		17	John MCPHEE	GBR	CIP – Green Power	KTM	157.2	2 Laps
		41	Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT	THA	Honda Team Asia	Honda	153.0	3 Laps
		71	Ayumu SASAKI	JPN	Petronas Sprinta Racing	Honda	157.4	9 Laps
		75	Albert ARENAS	SPA	Angel Nieto Team Moto3	KTM	137.8	16 Laps
		23	Niccolò ANTONELLI	ITA	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	157.1	18 Laps
		24	Tatsuki SUZUKI	JPN	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	156.9	18 Laps
		40	Darryn BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	157.2	19 Laps
		72	Alonso LOPEZ	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	154.9	19 Laps

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