Filip Salač finished 13th in the opening race of the Moto3 season in Losail, Qatar. The Czech competitor thus improved by ten positions against the qualification, but did not follow last year’s eighth place.
Salač quickly advanced by five positions after starting from the 23rd place, which means the eighth row. In the third round he broke into the scoring fifteen.
At that time, there was a big fall at the top, which was also taken away by the teammate of the Czech driver Andrea Migno. For Salač, however, the misfortune of the rivals meant a shift to the top ten. More importantly, he led the group leader successfully.
The native of Mladá Boleslav did not relax in the effort to achieve the best possible result. In the group, where the order spilled over like sea waves, he was able to jump up to seventh place at times.
In the next advance, the Rivacold Snipers Team riders were defended by the lower maximum speed of his Honda, so he lost the fights on the finish line. “I lost a bit on the straights, I caught up with it in the corners anyway, I think this race gave me a lot. I had speed, I could overtake the riders outside, which often doesn’t happen. We have to work on the performance of the motorcycle. I don’t know why it’s happening, “said the 19-year-old motorcyclist.
Five laps before the end, the number 12 rider decided to attack violently. He was even fifth, but then followed by a drop in the results list.
Salač even dropped out of the top 10 and scored three points in 13th place in the final standings. He did not defend last year’s eighth place in Losail. Still, he was optimistic: “We have a good day. I would evaluate it positively.”
For the victory, the Spaniard Jaume Masia finished at the KTM in front of another Red Bull KTM driver Ajo, a 16-year-old newcomer to the World Championships and compatriot Pedro Acosta. Darryn Binder from South Africa, the winner of the qualification, finished third.
Although the start of the MotoGP race belonged to the riders in the Ducati saddle, Maverick Viňales eventually took the lead. The Spaniard behind Yamaha’s handlebars stayed in the lead until the finish. It wasn’t until the last turn that Joan Mir lost his title to Suzuki, who was defeated by Johann Zarco and Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati.
Brit Sam Lowes started the season best in the Moto2 class, triumphing for the seventh time in the World Championship. Remy Gardner from Australia finished second and Fabio di Giannantonio from Italy was third.
The championship continues the following weekend again in Losail, which will host the Doha Grand Prix.
Qatar Grand Prix, inaugural race of the World Road Motorcycle Championship in Losail:
Moto3: 1. Masia 38: 29,620, 2. Acosta (both Sp. / KTM) -0.042, 3. D. Binder (JAR / Honda) -0.094, 4. Garcia (Sp. / Gas Gas) -0.435, 5. Rodrigo ( Arg./Honda) -0.880, 6. Antonelli (It./KTM) -0.899,… 13. Salač (CZ / Honda) -2,345.
Moto2: 1. Lowes (Brit./Kalex) 40: 03.123, 2. Gardner (Austr./Kalex) -2.260, 3. Di Giannantonio -5.228, 4. Bezzecchi (oba It./Kalex) -5.241, 5. Fernández (Šp ./Kalex) -6.145, 6. Roberts (USA) -6.786.
MotoGP: 1. M. Viňales (Šp. / Yamaha) 42: 28,663, 2. Zarco (Fr./Ducati) -1,092, 3. Bagnaia (It./Ducati) -1,129, 4. Mir (Šp. / Suzuki) -1,222, 5 .Quartararo (Fr./Yamaha) -3,030, 6. Rins (Sp. / Suzuki) -3,357.
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