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Moto3: Lorenzo Della Porta Wins Dramatic San Marino Race

  • The San Marino GP Moto3 race was another dramatic affair.

  • Lorenzo Della Porta wins after a thrilling five-way battle.

  • Marco Bezzecchi crashed out to hand the championship lead back to Jorge Martin.

Moto3 racing never fails to provide the best racing and it did not disappoint at San Marino, ultimately seeing Lorenzo Della Porta winning his maiden category victory.

The drama started when five riders came together in a horrific crash at the end of the very first lap which claimed Nicolo Bulega, Aaron Canet, Auyumu Sasaki, Jaume Masia and Enea Bastianini. Canet and Sasaki were sent to the mobile medical centre for check-ups, but thankfully all riders were okay.

The pile up also allowed the front five consisting of championship contenders Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin besides Lorenzo Della Porta, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Gabriel Rodrigo to break away.

The five battled incessantly throughout the race with multiple lead changes which became fiercer and fiercer as the laps wound down. All riders were involved in one aggressive pass after another; all the while Bezzecchi and Martin were trying to contend with each other for the championship.

But everything changed when Bezzecchi’s rear tyre broke loose and the bike almost highsided him into the gravel trap with just two corners to go to start the last lap. It was the Italian rider’s third crash while leading the last lap this season, the other two being at Le Mans, France and Assen, The Netherlands. His crash had effectively handed the championship lead over to Jorge Martin.

However, it was not the end of drama. Fabio Di Giannantonio had overshot a corner with two laps to go and was relegated to the back of the group. He ended up riding like a man possessed to catch the group. As Della Porta led the last lap into the last turn, Di Giannantionio lunged up the inside. But it appeared that the former kept his throttle pinned through the corner. While this was happening, Martin snuck through on the left side of both riders. It was a three-way charge to the line!

The results took a while to appear. When it did, it was Della Porta who crossed the line in 1st, by just 0.058s from Martin. Di Giannantionio lost out after his audacious move as he had to hold back on his throttle lest he ran wide and finished 3rd.

Malaysian rider Adam Norrodin finished in 12th.

Jorge Martin now leads the championship with 166 points from Marco Bezzecchi with 158 and Fabio Di Giannantonio with 138 points each.

Wahid's lust for motorcycles was spurred on by his late-Dad's love for his Lambretta on which he courted, married his mother, and took baby Wahid riding on it. He has since worked in the motorcycle and automotive industry for many years, before taking up riding courses and testing many, many motorcycles since becoming a motojournalist. Wahid likes to see things differently. What can you say about a guy who sees a road safety message in AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."

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