Leopard Honda Moto3 rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta claimed his first win of 2019 at the Sachsenring, to take the lead of the World Championship heading into the summer break.
With title rival Aron Canet starting down in 22nd; it was great opportunity for the Italian, starting from fourth himself, to take the lead of the World Championship heading into the three-week summer break.
However, it was his Leopard team-mate Marcos Ramirez who took the lead of the race in the early stages, controlling the race from the front. As the laps ticked down, the lead group got bigger, growing from nine to fifteen with five laps to go.
Both Leopard riders were featuring prominently with Romano Fenati and John McPhee also up the sharp end. With three to go, and the lead pack continuing to grow, it was Canet who had cut through from seemingly nowhere to suddenly be in contention at the front of the field.
Going onto the final lap, Ramirez led from Canet and Dalla Porta over the line, with Canet then taking the lead into the first corner. They stayed close through the lap before flicking it right down the hill, where both Leopard bike’s lined up Canet and moved through.
Despite looking like he was going to make a move into the final corner, Dalla Porta held his team-mate off, taking his first win of the 2019 season by 0.072 seconds, with Canet coming home in third.
This pushed Dalla Porta into the lead of the World Championship from Canet by just two points at the midway point in the season.
Fenati finished fourth in what has to be one of his best races since re-joining the Moto3 grid, with Raul Fernandez in fifth and Scotsman John McPhee finishing sixth, just 0.445 seconds off the win.
Ai Ogura was the top Japanese rider in seventh, ahead of compatriots Tatsuki Suzuki and Ayumu Sasaki who finished in eighth and ninth respectively.
Jakub Kornfiel was tenth, with Sergio Garcia in eleventh. It was a quiet weekend for Nico Antonelli who came home in twelfth, with Filip Salac, Can Oncu and Tony Arbolino rounding out the point scorers.
