Miguel and Miller dominate Thai MotoGP

Despite there not being any passes between the top five riders in the final three laps of the Thai Grand Prix, the 25-lap race was full of drama and intrigue. Fifteen minutes before the lights went out to signal the start of the grand prix, no one was actually sure it was going to get underway as heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed the Chang International Circuit in Buriram.

Ahead of the round, 25 points separated the top three men in the championship and, as the riders now look to Australia in two weeks’ time, the gap has reduced to 20 with three races remaining.

Most exciting for Aussie fans is that Jack Miller now finds himself in the title hunt, with a second-place finish in Thailand putting him just 40 points behind championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha). Most frustrating for Quartararo fans, is his failure to score any points for the second time in the last three races, crossing the line in 17th and out of the point-scoring places.

Of course it’s great news for the spectacle, with all three title contenders having a very different weekends. Quartararo got mired off the line and fell into the clutches of the pack and its low visibility; Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) had to serve a long-lap penalty after he made contact with Brad Binder early on, desperate to recover from his 13th qualifying position; and Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati), who historically has never been strong in the wet, celebrated what he called his first true wet-race podium with third place.

First place went to wet-weather specialist Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) who picked up his second victory of the year. But he had to work for it. Seven days after his dominant win in Japan, Miller pushed through to the lead after pole man Marco Bezzechi (Mooney VR46) was forced to relinquish top spot when he ran wide out of the first turn following contact with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati). Meanwhile, the Aussie looked confident in the conditions.

But the Portuguese man had superior pace. From 11th on the grid, he was up to third by lap five, deposing Bagnaia of second the next time around and, while he was content to stay behind Miller until lap 14, Miller didn’t have the same confidence shown by the rider he’ll replace in the factory KTM squad next year.

In terms of late-race pace, no one was better than Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Ducati), who fired in five consecutive fastest laps between the 15th and 19th time around. With six to go, he was a full two seconds quicker than Oliveira up ahead of him, and while he made light work of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) for fourth place, he played what he later called “being clever in the championship” to cross the line in fourth behind Bagnaia.

“I need to race to try and catch a victory, but to fight for the championship – I have nothing to fight for – so, that’s why. We are a big group in Ducati, but if we can help in some way, then I’m pretty happy that the race was like this,” he said.

Aleix Espargaro (199pt) eventually crossed the line in 11th, which gained him five points on Quartararo (219pt), but Bagnaia (217pt) was the biggest beneficiary of the drama and intrigue – his third-place finish was enough to bring him to within two points of the Frenchman. Enea Bastianini (180pt) finished sixth and sits fourth, with Miller (179pt) fifth in the title standings, just 40 points adrift.

With slicks fitted to the Moto2 machines just minutes before the warm-up lap was due to get underway, the heavens opened and delayed proceedings. There was chaos and confusion as teams scrambled on the grid to get the machines swapped from a dry to wet set-up before the three-minute board was shown. But when the race did get underway – minus three riders who were forced to start from pitlane – it was shortened by one third distance from 24 laps to 16. The warm-up lap was the only chance the riders had to get a feel for the conditions before the race got underway.

It was Somkiat Chantra (Honda Team Asia) who was starting from pole position in front of his home crowd and delighted them with an incredible holeshot and early lead. An incredible start from Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) also, he found himself in third to start the second lap after qualifying down in 18th. It was short-lived delight for the home fans, though, because with a two-second lead from Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools), Chantra fell victim to the conditions and crashed out of the race.

By lap five, Canet found himself in the lead ahead of Filip Salac (Gresini Racing) with Jake Dixon (Aspar GasGas) and Tony Arbolini (Marc VDS Racing) moving past Lopez for third and fourth.

One lap later and with nothing to lose, Salac shoved his Gresini machine passed Canet to take the lead, but the man on the move was Arbolino, passing Dixon (lap 6), Canet (lap 7) and even Salac when the Czech rider made a mistake in the final corner of lap eight.

So when the race was red flagged due to the rain, Arbolino was the deserving leader. And while a five-lap dash was rescheduled because the race hadn’t reached the required two-thirds distance, Mother Nature had other ideas. Organisers eventually awarded half points to the riders in the positions they crossed the line before the red flags were thrown.

Arbolino picked up 12.5 points and his second-ever Moto2 victory, Salac earned 10 for his first-ever Moto2 podium, while Canet added eight to his tally for his third-place finish. Championship leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished seventh, one place behind his title rival Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) in sixth. It means the Spaniard now has a slim 1.5-point lead over the Japanese man, with 238.5pt to 237, with Canet 53.5 points behind on 185.

When Adrian Fernandez (Tech3 KTM Ajo) high sided on the first of the 22-lap Moto3 race and left title contender Sergio Garcia (GasGas Aspar) with nowhere to go, the title trophy swung very much in the favour of teammate Izan Guevara.

But just as he did last year, Leopard Honda’s Dennis Foggia is finding some late-season form to keep himself in the mix. From pole position, the Italian led over the line all but one of the 22 times to take the win ahead of Ayumi Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

Guevara’s trademark dominance wasn’t to be in Thailand, not helped by his 11th-place qualifying position, but on a day when his main championship rival ended the day in the gravel. His eventual fifth-place finish, albeit it nearly 10 seconds behind the winner, was a job well done. Speaking of jobs well done, Aussie Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power) picked up his best finish of the season in 12th, just the confidence he’ll need ahead of his home race.

Foggia now moves ahead of Garcia in the title chase and 49 points adrift of Guevara, 265 versus 216. Garcia stays on 209 points, 56 adrift. Kelso moves up one spot to 21st with 28 points on the board.