David Alonso wins incredible Moto3 / Moto3 race

The start situation ahead of the third Moto3 of the year: The front row of the grid showed much of the World Championship. With David Alonso and World Cup leader Dani Holgado, the top of the table was also at the front of the grid. The exception is Ivan Ortola. Third place in the World Championship and winner of the race last year did not go beyond 14th place in qualifying.

To the surprise of the fans, the second starting position also remained empty. José Antonio Rueda underwent surgery on Saturday after an acute appendicitis incident and had to miss the race with a broken heart and a knock.

The start of the 14-lap race was followed by an impressive first lap. After only a few hundred meters, Filippo Farioli flew his SIC58 Honda. A few corners later, Kelso went out after contact with Dani Holgado and last year’s winner Ortola went down with Stefano Nepa. The incident involving the two KTM riders was quite dramatic, especially because Ortola jumped Nepa’s bike in a fit of excitement. The Italian ran into his worst race, only for the Spaniard Ortola to discover his problem.

David Alonso handled the situation well and ran immediately. After two laps, the Colombian led by three seconds.
It was not a good day for the team of Paolo Simoncelli, the boss of the SIC58 team, because the musician Luca Lunetta also crashed. The Italian was able to continue the race.

Behind the leader of Alonso, a group of five was formed by Holgado, Veijer, rookie Piqueras, Yamanaka and Joel Kelso, who finished in 14th place after five consecutive laps of great chaos was in the middle of the race already in 12th place – also for because a number of pilots had to serve their long lap penalties.

At the start of the last third of the race, things were exciting again up front. Collin Veijer, star of the Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP team, had taken the lead of the chase group and took seconds from the leader. Four laps to go and then the drama of the race. Veijer fell spectacularly in the first sector. Ryusei Yamanaka was only able to escape by a hair, but he had to leave the slope. After the chase group was blown up, Alonso was at peace at the front. The CFMOTO pilot from the Jorge Martinez team led the way and took the win in Texas.

The fight for other places on the podium is very exciting. In the fast-paced Moto3 final, Holgado, Piqueras and Yamanaka edged each other out with the best result going to Holgado, who beat the rookie by 13 thousandths at the finish line.
The CIP Green Power team led by Noah Dettwiler is also celebrating. After a good ride, the Swiss scored his first World Cup points in 14th place.

Results round Moto3 World Championship, Austin, April 14, 2024
1. Alonso, CFMOTO, 14 Rdn
2. Free, GASGAS, + 5,163 sec
3. Piqueras, Honda, + 5,176
4. Yamanaka, KTM, + 5,676
5. Munoz, KTM, + 13,285
6. Suzuki, Husqvarna, + 13,730
7. Kelso, KTM, + 13,963
8. Roulstone, GASGAS, + 19,126
9. Esteban, CFMOTO, +19,325
10. Bertelle, Honda, +20,657
11. Fernandez, Honda, +20,689
12. Carraro, KTM, +22,785
13. Zuruzuta, KTM, + 22,869
14. Dettwiler, KTM, +27,575
15. Farioli, Honda, +32,147
16. Rossi, KTM, + 38,953
17. Whatley, Honda, + 44,924