With the Moto3™ grid tightly poised at the top of the championship table, the AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan in Motegi this weekend is a mouth-watering prospect.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s championship leader Luis Salom now only holds a five-point advantage over Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins, with 50 still on offer in the final two rounds. Rins came out victorious on the last occasion in Phillip Island, and will be hoping for a repeat in Motegi to overtake his compatriot ahead of the final race of the season.
Yet Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales is also still in contention, despite having a slightly tougher task at hand with a 22-point deficit to Salom. He has however shown that he can scrap it out with the top two, after coming second to Rins in Australia by a mere 0.003 seconds.
And with Mahindra Racing’s Efren Vazquez and Miguel Oliveira, GO&FUN Gresini’s Niccolo Antonelli, as well as Caretta Technology – RTG’s Jack Miller looking strong, the podium could go many ways. Two Japanese wildcards will join the field in the form of Team Plus One’s Sena Yamada and Team Honda Asia’s Hiroki Ono.
World Championship Standings Moto3™
1- Luis Salom SPA KTM 300
2- Alex Rins SPA KTM 295
3- Maverick Viñales SPA KTM 278
4- Alex Marquez SPA KTM 175
5- Jonas Folger GER Kalex KTM 147
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