David Alonso first Moto3 World Champion of the Pirelli era

Strategy and records are the races’ secret ingredients. Congratulations to David Alonso
 
“First of all, I would like to congratulate David Alonso and the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team for the title, the first in Moto3™ with Pirelli tyres. The Colombian rider’s ten victories in 16 races show a truly impressive consistency, and this title is the right crowning achievement for such results. This Sunday was slightly different than the others. The Moto3™ race was held in the dry, and Alonso made a great comeback after slipping to seventh position, while achieving an extraordinary race record lap, 1.5 seconds faster than the previous one. The Moto2™ race was a completely different story, as it was interrupted almost immediately due to rain, and then started again in mixed conditions, with a light rain that continued to fall and a damp and sometimes wet asphalt. In these conditions, choosing the right tyres is always a challenge. Those who dared more and bet on slicks had the better of those who opted for wet tyres. There was therefore a strategy component and, of course, as it happens in these cases, also luck, as they are ultimately both part of any race. After a weekend off, we will face the final block of three consecutive races in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia, before the grand finale in Valencia.”

Moto2™

· In this Grand Prix too, before the restart due to rain, the soft compounds, SC0 rear and SC1 front, had been the choice of all the riders on the grid. At the restart, despite most riders opting for wet tyres, those who stayed on dry tyres prevailed.

· Winner Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2/Kalex), as well as the runner-up, home hero Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI/Boscoscuro) and third-placed Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/Kalex) all three used slick tyres. Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo/Kalex), seventh at the finish line, was the rider who finished best among those using wet tyres.

· The race was held over a distance of 12 laps, compared to the 19 initially planned, with just over 26 degrees Celsius of asphalt temperature and 20 degrees of air temperature.

Moto3™

· As for the race tyre choice, most riders (15 out of 26) opted for the medium SC2 for the front, with the remaining 11 going for a soft SC1, while the soft SC1 was the favourite for the rear, with 22 riders choosing it. Overall , the SC2 front and SC1 rear combination was the most used (13 out of 26 riders), and it was also the choice of the new World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO).

· In addition to winning the race from third on the grid, David Alonso also set the new race lap record on the 9th of the 17 laps scheduled in 1’55.675, about 1.4 seconds faster than the previous record set by Ayumu Sasaki in 2023, and almost 5 tenths better than the old all-time lap record. A total of 21 drivers in the race fell below the previous track record.
 
· The race lasted 33’03.606 and was more than 22 seconds faster than last year’s, with an average lap improvement of more than 1.5 seconds.