Oliveira pips Miller in Styria thriller

In his 150th Grand Prix appearance, Tech3 KTM rider Miguel Oliveira made history at the Styrian GP in Austria when he became the first Portuguese rider to celebrate victory in MotoGP’s premier class.

It looked as if ECSTAR Suzuki Joan Mir would be celebrating his maiden premier-class win, with a 2.4-second lead on lap 16, but a fiery factory Yamaha brought out the red flags.

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Vinales bails

Braking for Turn One, Maverick Vinales’ front carbon discs cried no more and shattered, leaving the Spaniard with no other option than to bail at 230km/h as his YZR-M1 careered into the air fence and burst into flames.

Aussie Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) got the holeshot in the restarted 12-lap dash on brand new soft rubber but was soon passed by Red Bull KTM’s Pol Espargaro, who was determined to make up for his two previous non-finishes.

Last-lap thriller

As the pair swapped paint in the last sector of the last lap, Oliveira kept his head and a tight line into the last corner, and swept past the pair to snatch the win. Miller, who was nursing an injured right shoulder after a crash in FP3, was second ahead of Espargaro. With no new front tyres left for the restarted race, the best Joan Mir could salvage was fourth place.

Austrian GP winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was fifth ahead of Alex Rins (ECSTAR Suzuki) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU LCR Honda). It was a blow for the Japanese rider, who looked on course for his maiden podium before the stoppage in the first race.

Brad Binder finished eighth ahead of Valentino Rossi in ninth and Tech3 KTM rookie Iker Lecuona in tenth.

Tight title race

With 11 different podium-getters in just five races, the title chase is tight. Dovizioso (67) moves to within three points of Fabio Quartararo (70) and Aussie Jack Miller moves into third with 56 points. Binder (49), Vinales (48), Nakagami (46), Rossi (45), Mir (44) and Oliveira (43) are covered by just six points.

Jorge's costly error

Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Martin was denied his second consecutive Moto2 victory in parc ferme when he was penalised one place for exceeding track limits on the last corner, promoting Marco Bezzechi (Sky Racing team VR46) to the top step of the intermediate podium for the first time.

Aussie Remy Gardner (Onexox TKKR Sag Team) held his nerve to cross the line in third, going some way to make up for his crash from a podium spot just one week earlier. And with title leader Marini finishing down in seventh, and two-time winner in 2020 Enea Bastianini (Italtrans racing Team) crossing the line in tenth, just 12 points now separate the top three.

Marini leads on 87 ahead of Bastianini and Martin who both have 79 points. Red Bull KTM’s Tetsuta Nagashima (68) is in fourth ahead of Bezzechi (65) in fifth. Gardner moved up to ninth overall on 41 points.

Moto3 madness

Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing team VR46) became the third first-time winner in Moto3 at the inaugural Styrian Grand Prix when he beat Tony Arbolino’s (Rivacold Snipers Team) Honda to the stripe.

The lead pack was reduced when the two Tech3 riders of Deniz Oncu and Ayumu Sasaki tangled on the penultimate lap before Petronas Sprinta Racing’s John McPhee lost the front, leaving the two leaders to fight for the win. Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura rounded out the podium.

Title leader Albert Arenas finished in fifth, which sees him hang onto his healthy title lead, with 106 points to Ogura’s 81. McPhee’s crash was costly one, he’s in third but 14 points shy of the Japanese rider on 67. Vietti’s win promotes him to fourth on 66, ahead of Arbolino (60) in fifth.

The series now moves to a double-header in Misano, Italy, in three weeks’ time.