This weekend the Moto3 World Championship arrives in Austria for the eleventh round of the 2019 season in Spielberg.
Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) arrives in Spielberg after winning in Brno one week ago and reclaiming the championship lead which he now holds over Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) by three points after the Italian finished second in the Czech Republic. Canet has never finished on the podium in Austria, with a best finish of fifth coming in 2017. Canet will have to deal once again with the KTM’s speed deficit to the Honda this weekend, as well, which should be more pronounced at the Red Bull Ring thanks to the amount of time spent at full throttle on a Moto3 bike. On the other side, though, one of the KTM’s strongest points is its braking stability, which will be especially important in Austria with several big stops, at turns one, three and four.
One of Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s strengths is that he is fast in the straight lines, and this will be especially advantageous for the Italian this weekend at a track where he finished fifth last season. The areas where Dalla Porta will be strong this weekend, Canet should be weaker, and vice versa. This should make for an interesting race and, with this being Moto3, the two championship combatants will not be alone on the track on Sunday.
Joining the two on the podium last weekend was Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) who was joined by Canet on the list of multiple Moto3 winners in 2019, which consists of only the #14 and the #44. Mostly, since Arbolino’s win in Mugello, his form has been strong and, with the exception of Sachsenring, the Italian has been fighting for the podium in each of the last five or six rounds and will hope to continue that into this weekend.
Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) was also in the podium battle in Brno, although he missed out to to Arbolino and Dalla Porta on the final lap. Masia’s debut in the World Championship was in Austria back in 2017, when he impressed with a ninth place. Masia has not won since Argentina and not stood on the podium since Mugello, has been waiting a while for a trip to the rostrum – winning on a KTM in Austria would perhaps make that wait seem more worthwhile.
Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini Moto3) is not racing this weekend after his broken pelvis and collarbone in Brno. The Argentine will be replaced by CEV rider Jeremy Alcoba, running the #52.
Featured Image courtesy of Gold and Goose/KTM