#MALAYSIANGP: EIGHTH PODIUM OF THE SEASON FOR MARTIN
Team Del Conca Gresini Moto3 take their thirteenth rostrum finish in the 2017 Moto3 World Championship courtesy of Jorge Martin who, after the third place at Phillip Island, goes one better in Malaysia to claim second place at the chequered flag.
It was a demanding and intense race for the Spaniard, and not just for the heat: starting from second place on the grid, Martin led the race and tried to pull away in the first few laps, then battled for first and then second place as he managed to pip Bastianini at the line for only 0.039secs.
Fabio Di Giannantonio, on the other hand, was unable to put together another great recovery from 11th place on the grid as he ended up ninth after being involved in a six-way battle for fifth position. The young Italian rider, however, earned six more points in the season.
With only one race still to be contested, Martin consolidates his fourth place in the standings and he is now 21 points away from third, while Diggia is almost sure of his fifth position given the 23-point advantage over Bastianini. The 2017 season finale will take place at Valencia in a fortnight’s time.
2nd – JORGE MARTIN #88
“Given my pace in warm up, I tried to give my all at the beginning of the race and try to pull away, and I almost did it. It was the right thing to do because we had everything we needed to do it, but it wasn’t enough. We are competitive everywhere and that’s out there for everyone to see, the team is working extremely well, so I hope we’ll keep the momentum going at Valencia”
9th – FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #21
“It was a bad day, no doubt. We tried a set-up change during warm up which I didn’t like, so we went back to qualifying settings, which were definitely better. Unfortunately I didn’t feel well before the race and had a strong headache. When I went to Clinica Mobile I was told that the intestinal virus I caught had completely dehydrated my body. I tried to get back into shape for the race, but from halfway I had nothing in the tank already. I wanted to race with the front guys, but with this and Antonelli’s crash that split the front group, we couldn’t do any better.”
