Portuguese takes second consecutive podium and moves into third in the World Championship. Binder crashes on final lap when in second and Hanika is unable to finish.

Oliveira, Moto3 race, Aragon MotoGP 2015

Miguel Oliveira took a great victory at the Aragon Grand Prix, sticking at the front of the race from the start and using a good strategy on the final lap to score his third win of the year. Brad Binder, also in the fight for the victory until the last lap, was knocked down when in second and in with a chance of taking the lead. Karel Hanika, who struggled throughout the race, crashed out with seven laps remaining when in the second group.

Starting from the front row, Miguel Oliveira showed consistency and pace at the MotorLand Aragon circuit, keeping at the front of the pack for almost the entire race. He held off attacks from a group of up to 10 riders, and the Red Bull KTM Ajo man remained strong to cross the finish line first. After a second position two weeks ago, this victory allows him place third in the World Championship with 159 points.

Brad Binder was not as lucky as his teammate and suffered a crash in the final moments, after a collision with a rival. After remaining in the leading group throughout the race, he was up at the front heading into the penultimate lap. Overtaken by his teammate, the South African prepared his strategy for victory but was hit by Enea Bastianini on one of the last corners of the contest.

Karel Hanika had the same unfortunate end to the race. The Czech rider started from the fifth row of the grid and remained in the fight in the second group, battling for eleventh. However, seven laps from the end, Hanika lost several positions and crashed when trying to recover them.

With this result, Binder and Hanika remain in seventh and seventeenth place, respectively. The next round of the championship is at Motegi, Japan, from October 9th to 11th.

Race – Results
1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 39:54.343
2. Jorge Navarro (Honda) +0.193
3. Romano Fenati (KTM) +1.505
4. Efren Vazquez (Honda) +1.792
5. Philipp Oettl (KTM) +2.466
DNF – Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
DNF – Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo)

Moto3 World Championship Standing 2015
1. Danny Kent (Honda) 234 points
2. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 179 points
3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 159 points
4. Romano Fenati (KTM) 155 points
5. Niccolo Antonelli (Honda) 136 points
7. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 110 points
17. Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 33 points

Miguel Oliveira,
“It was a bit chaotic, but it was a fun race. I really enjoyed myself on the bike. This weekend has been very good for us, finishing in the top three in each session. Yesterday we did not have much luck in the fight for pole position, but in the race today we did a good job. I noticed throughout the race that I had a big chance of victory, I was confident and I gave everything to make it so. This win is very important for the overall standings. We must continue like this.”

Brad Binder,
“I always destroy my tyres at the start of the race, so today I did not want to push things on the early laps. I preferred to go at my own pace and follow the leading group in the race. Later I thought it was time to push and I climbed positions, but I didn’t have any luck. I think the race strategy we had was very good but a rider touched my rear wheel and I crashed. Obviously I’m not happy with the result, with not scoring points in this race that I had a chance to win, but we were up there. I like Motegi and hopefully I can make up for today there.”

Karel Hanika,
“I could have ridden in the leading group and I had a good  pace, but like in practice I was lacking top speed on the straights. It was quite difficult to maintain positions, because while cornering I felt very good and could overtake, then on the straights I lost places. We will work to improve this aspect in Japan, because in other aspects we are very happy. With 7 laps remaining I crashed at Turn 2 when on the limit, but fortunately -although it was a strong highside- I was not hurt.”

Aki Ajo,
“I am very happy with the third victory for Miguel [Oliveira] and that throughout the weekend our riders were so strong. Miguel was extremely strong in every practice. It was a deserved victory, as throughout the race he was at a good level and luckily he was not involved in the incidents that occurred behind him. These things happen, because Moto3 races are always a little crazy, but sometimes things are a bit wild.

It was a great shame for Brad [Binder], because he has improved a lot in recent races. He set his pace by himself in practice and during the race used a good strategy, saving his tyres for the final laps -which had been one of his problems in the past. It was a very unfortunate crash, because it was completely caused by another rider who made a big mistake. In any case, I am happy because he always takes steps forward and in the next races he will be strong.

Karel has also had a good weekend, but in the race we could not do what we had expected. We know that when you’re not in the front group, in the second group there are always incidents. He lost some pace and at the end he made a mistake.”