Moto3™ delivered the show as usual on Sunday at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with Daniel Holgado finishing P4 at the end of a strong and hard-fought race, while Jacob Roulstone completed the Gran Premio dell'Emilia-Romagna in 21st.
Podium finisher in San Marino Grand Prix just two weeks ago, Daniel Holgado was looking to end the European tour on a high after showing great pace all weekend. Lights were going out at 10:00 local time at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, one hour earlier than usual. From his 11th place on the grid, Daniel Holgado was quick to gain positions to join the front in the first turns, and after three hot laps, he was up to second behind David Alonso, and Angel Piqueras close at the back. Adrian Fernandez was not far, leading the chasing group. The fourth lap was when he took the lead for the first time, with a move on the inside of T8 on Alonso. That was 10 positions gained in a few minutes for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 rider. San Marino Grand Prix winner Piqueras attacked from his third place to take the lead on lap 6, leaving us again with a 1-2 Piqueras-Holgado. The scenario was building itself in a similar way than two weeks ago, would the outcome be the same? For sure the answer was a no on Holgado's side, and he fought back immediately for the lead. Soon after, a small mistake from Piqueras gave the opportunity to Alonso to close on, and join the battle for 1st. As nine laps remained, the championship leader was first, leading Holgado and Piqueras, with a 0.5 seconds gap on the chasing group. Behind though, there was Colin Veijer closing on the front 3, with faster laps than them, and it was just a matter of time until the Dutch man would join the battle for the win. As three laps remained, Holgado was still in 2nd chasing Alonso, with Piqueras and Veijer close behind just watching. On lap 19, Dani made a move on Alonso, forced to make space, and Piqueras followed. Still the same scenario as last week! Last lap, and Dani was in first with the rookie on his back wheel, but Piqueras and Alonso weren’t done yet. Both made a move on the inside on the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 rider in the final lap, leaving him third on the finish line, but as he touched the green, he was demoted one position. Still, that's a strong 4th place for Holgado, who heads to the flyaways second in the riders' championship.
After his hectic Friday that left him a bit sore on Saturday, Australian Jacob Roulstone still completed a decent qualifying, missing out 2 by a short margin. From his 19th position on the grid, the #12 remained in these positions in the first laps, having gained one position in 5 laps. Ahead, there was Scott Ogden, 3 seconds ahead though, so that left Jacob with the target to focus on himself, get up to his race pace, and try closing the gap as much as possible, while trying to keep his ground on Ryusei Yamanaka, just behind. The Japanese made a move on Jacob the next lap, letting Jacob sit back in his original grid position. Joel Esteban passed through, Jacob took a couple of laps later, and the Australian was in P20 with 9 laps remaining, and on lap 14, Xabi Zurutuza also passed through the Aussie who appeared to be struggling on his GASGAS, with slower lap times. A long lap penalty given to Esteban allowed him to go back to P20, with three laps to go, and that gave him a little boost to move past Zurutuza to move up to 19th, but he lost two positions in the final laps, to finish in 21st. Disappointing result for the rookie, but he will have a new opportunity to improve himself, as the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 squad will now fly to Lombok island, for the Indonesian Grand Prix, on September 27-28-29.