The Champion wins his final Moto3™ race by 0.062 seconds and completes a sweep of the four Spanish events
Izan Guevara has shown why he is the Moto3™ World Champion by snatching victory in the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana from Deniz Öncü despite trailing the Turk into the final corner. Guevara led all the way until midway through the last lap of the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, but then got the run off Turn 14 and powered his Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team entry to a triumph of just 0.062 seconds. Four from four on his home soil of Spain, then, for the man who wrapped up the title in Australia, while Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was visibly disappointed with himself at missing out. Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) clinched second in the Championship by finishing a lonely third on the day.
Guevara had qualified on pole position and headed the field to the first corner, from fellow front row starters Öncü and Garcia. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) took up fourth and Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) fifth, which was how they ran until the latter served a Long Lap Penalty for crashing under a yellow flag in Free Practice.
He dropped from the back of the lead group to seventh, just behind Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports), and just ahead of Leopard Racing teammates Tatsuki Suzuki and Dennis Foggia. It meant Garcia was in the box seat for runner-up in the World Championship, given his rivals for those honours were Sasaki, as the firm outsider in the scenario, and Foggia.
As Sasaki and Muñoz battled over fifth, and Foggia made his way back ahead of Suzuki, it was Guevara and Öncü continuing to gap Garcia and Ortola, their margin over third place growing beyond a full second on Lap 6 of 23. It was two seconds after three laps more, by which time both Foggia and Xavier Artigas (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) had overtaken Moreira for seventh and eighth, respectively.
Up the front, Guevara still could not shake Öncü, despite the Turk feeling the need to throw something away from his bike on Lap 10, but Garcia had finally put a second on Ortola on Lap 12, then two seconds on Lap 13, and four seconds on Lap 15. Meanwhile, the battle for fifth was being contested between at least eight riders, namely Sasaki, Muñoz, Artigas, Foggia, Moreira,…