Ivan Ortola, MT Helmets MSI
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
A thrilling 20-lap Moto3 grand prix opened up Sunday’s race programme at the TT Circuit Assen, with Ivan Ortola denying home hero Collin Veijer at the final chicane.
The first six corners of the race were led by poleman Angel Piqueras (Leopard Honda), before Ortola sent his MT Helmets – MSI KTM up the inside at Turn 7.
Ortola the led for the next 10 laps before Veijer (Intact GP Husqvarna) overtook him at Turn 15 on lap 11.
Veijer at one stage held a lead of almost a second and was being given breathing space as the pack behind fought hard for the final podium spots.
Ortola put in a strong final lap to close Veijer right down, forcing the Dutchman to ride defensively on the way through Turn 15 into the last chicane.
Forcing his bike to the inside of the track, Ortola went past on the outside into Turn 16 on the brakes and held onto the victory by just 0.012s.
This marks Ortola’s first win of the season, with David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) completing the podium in third.
Ajo KTM’s Jose Antonio Rueda was fourth, beating championship leader David Alonso (Aspar) and Luca Lunetta (SIC58) on the first of the Hondas.
Leopard duo Adrian Fernandez and Piqueras completed the top eight, while Stefan Nepa (Level-Up MTA) and Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) rounded out the top 10.
Alonso’s championship lead has been cut down slightly to 39 points by Veijer, while Dani Holgado (Tech3) is now 43 adrift after struggling to 11th in the race.
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Ai Ogura, MT Helmets MSI
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
MotoGP-bound Fermin Aldeguer looked set to convert pole to victory at Assen in the 22-lap Moto2 race.
The Spaniard took the lead back from Ai Ogura at Turn 5 having dropped behind the Japanese rider off the line.
Aldeguer opened out a gap of over 1.5s as the race passed its midway stage, but from lap five had a track limits warning hanging over him.
The Speed Up rider was then handed a long lap penalty for continuing to exceed track limits, serving his punishment on lap 16 and dropping to third.
Aldeguer rallied back to second but couldn’t overhaul Ogura over the final few tours, leaving the MT Helmets – MSI rider to take a second win of the season.
It’s the second time in three races that Aldeguer has thrown away victory to a track limits penalty, with Ogura – ironically – taking the spoils in Barcelona when this last happened.
Sergio Garcia on the sister MT Helmets bike completed the podium ahead of Aspar’s Jake Dixon, while Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra was fifth.
Tony Arbolino was sixth for Marc VDS Racing, while Marcos Ramirez was seventh on the American Racing-run machine.
The top 10 was completed by Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez, Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez and Ajo KTM’s Celestino Vietti.
Injury from a crash in practice forced Joe Roberts (American Racing) to miss the grand prix.
But the damage to his championship hopes has been minimal, with Roberts only 23 adrift of Garcia at the top of the standings. Ogura sits second, 14 points behind.
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Source: Autosport