Foggia so close to victory, Kunii so close to the points
Autódromo Internacional do AlgarveHonda riders Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) and Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda NSF250RW) joined each other on the Portimao podium after another breathtaking Moto3 battle.
Foggia set the pace for most of the 21 laps, keeping the nine-rider lead pack behind him with some beautiful riding and some superb late-braking manoeuvres. The 20-year-old Italian only lost the lead with three corners to go.
He crossed the finish line just five hundredths of a second behind the winner, with 25-year-old Italian Migno a further 0.533 seconds further back, so the podium was covered by 0.584 seconds.
As usual in a Moto3 race every corner was a thrill, with positions changing innumerable times as riders fought to gain the upper hand around this rollercoaster of a circuit.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Team Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) rode a heroic race to fifth, less than second off the podium, despite taking a long-lap penalty for an earlier incident which dropped the 24-year-old Argentine rider right back to 15th in the mid-stages of the race.
Xavier Artigas (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) and Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda NSF250RW) were innocent victims of collisions and neither finished the race.
Yuki Kunii (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) staged an excellent comeback from 20th on the grid. The 18-year-old from Setagaya battled in a fierce pack to maintain position, less than 1.5 seconds outside the points. Last time out at the Doha GP Kunii scored his first world points with a 15th-place finish.
Andi Farid Izdihar (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) started the race one place ahead of his young Japanese team-mate, and achieved his best finish in only his third Moto3 World Championship race. The 23-year-old Indonesian finished 18th, five seconds behind Kunii.
Today was a frustrating day for Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda NSF250RW), who had been Honda’s star of the opening two races of 2021, taking two podiums to stand second in the championship. However, the 23-year-old South African was sanctioned for a minor indiscretion – riding too slowly on the racing line – in yesterday’s Q2 qualifying session. His punishment was a pit-lane start and he was unable to catch the front-runners from there. By the finish he had worked his way up to 20th.
I’m happy! Being in front for so long made it feel like a long race. On the last lap [Pedro] Acosta was able to brake better and pass me, but I’m happy anyway, because I think my fight for the World Championship begins here. I would like to say a big thank to my team and my machine!
During all the weekend I've struggled to find the correct feeling. But even when I found it the lap time didn't come. I've many problems with my riding – I make many mistakes, so I need to improve it. Today, I hadn’t the pace and I made the same mistakes as last year, mainly when braking. When I’m riding with fast riders I can stay with them and follow them. Riding over my limit and taking risks to follow them I can be fast. I should do it always, starting from practice in Jerez.
I felt a big improvement of my performance and my feeling with the bike from the Qatar race. Now I understand the bike much more. This weekend was not so good but not so bad for me. Because the result is my best result of the season, but I know I can fight for the Top 15, scoring some points. I will keep continuing working for the next race in Jerez.
