Britain’s Danny Kent put on a Moto3 riding exhibition at Austin MotoGP round to take victory by nine seconds from teen sensation Fabio Quartararo and veteran Efren Vasquez today to set the biggest dry-weather winning margin the class has ever seen.
The Leopard Honda man, who obliterated Jack Miller’s outright lap record in qualifying yesterday, recovered from an average start to take the lead on lap three, got the hammer down and wasn’t seen by the chasing pack again, setting fastest lap after fastest lap, and sometimes circulating a second quicker than the pack.
“My plan was to sit behind a few riders so they could hit the wet patches first and so I could get into a rhythm. I did a few laps, made my move. This is why I trained so hard in the winter so I can keep my concentration and it has paid off. This is a great moment,” said Kent in parc ferme.
Qatar winner Alexi Masbou was left to fight it out with Vasquez and Quartararo and Enea Bastianini but got shoved to the back of the pack through the final three corners and then crashed, losing the front into the last turn.
Basianini took fourth place with Brad Binder fifth and Scotland’s John McPhee picking up sixth place after a very difficult weekend. Front runners Miguel Oliviera, Jorge Navarro, Nico Antonelli and Francesco Bagnaia all crashed.
