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Tag: Taiyo Furusato

  • Barcelona brilliance: Piqueras wins the battle, Rueda saves the day

    Barcelona brilliance: Piqueras wins the battle, Rueda saves the day

    Ángel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) produced a brilliant ride at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to take his fourth win of the season, beating José Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in a nail-biting finish. The victory trims the Spaniard’s title deficit by five points, (-64 points now) while Rueda recovered from an early Long Lap penalty (collected for riding slow on line in practice – 2nd offence) to snatch P2 in the final corner. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) completed the podium after another classy ride, marking his second rostrum of 2025.

    Photo Credit: Pirelli Press Office

    Starting from his maiden pole, David Almansa (Le0pard Racing) made the holeshot stick, but the action exploded behind him. Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar) rocketed through from ninth to P4 on the opening lap, while Piqueras slipped down the order to P6. Title leader Rueda immediately served his Long Lap penalty on Lap 3, tumbling from fifth to 15th – but the #99 was far from done.

    By Lap 4, Piqueras had bulldozed his way up to third, with Rueda already slicing back into the top 10. The lead group was a freight train, Almansa still heading the charge with Quiles, Muñoz, and Piqueras all in close quarters. On Lap 9, Hungarian GP winner Quiles surged into P1, only to be quickly countered by Almansa and Piqueras. Disaster struck for Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who suffered yet another technical issue forcing him out of the race. Kiwi Cormac Buchanan (Denssi Racing – BOE) also crashed out on lap 9.

    The relentless shuffle continued until Lap 11, when Rueda finally hit the front for the first time. He tried to break clear with four laps to go, opening half a second over the pack, but the chasers refused to let him escape. Almansa, Piqueras, and Furusato dragged him back into range.

    Photo Credit: Pirelli Press Office

    The final lap was pure chaos. Piqueras made a bold lunge at Turn 1 to seize the lead. Rueda slipped back to fourth behind Furusato and Almansa, but the championship leader wasn’t finished – throwing his KTM up the inside at the last corner to snatch second. Piqueras, however, held firm for a crucial victory that could shape the title battle.

    Behind them, Furusato sealed a deserved podium in third, while Almansa and teammate Adrián Fernández (Le0pard Racing) rounded out the top five, a good result for the pair of Hondas however Furusato in P3 wasn’t enough to keep Honda in the constructors fight with KTM taking home the constructors championship this weekend. Guido Pini claimed sixth, ahead of Joel Kelso (Levelup MTA) who was beaten up in the early laps and unable to recover, David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Ryusei Yamanaka (Frinsa – MT Helmets – MSI) who had an impressive charge through the field after a back of the grid (collected for for slow riding in qualifying – 2nd offence) picked up nineth place and Valentín Perrone brought it home in tenth place.

    Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) lead the next group of riders across the line in eleventh place, despite the impressive start Quiles crossed the line in twelfth place ahead of fellow rookie Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) and Marcos Uriarte rounded out the point scoring places with 14th and 15th respectfully.

    🏁 Moto3 Barcelona GP – Race Results

    Pos Rider Team Time/Gap
    1 Ángel Piqueras 🇪🇸 FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI 32:40.243
    2 José Antonio Rueda 🇪🇸 Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.081
    3 Taiyo Furusato 🇯🇵 Honda Team Asia +0.156
    4 David Almansa 🇪🇸 Leopard Racing +0.229
    5 Adrián Fernández 🇪🇸 Leopard Racing +0.542
    6 Guido Pini 🇮🇹 LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP +0.587
    7 Joel Kelso 🇦🇺 LEVELUP-MTA +0.773
    8 David Muñoz 🇪🇸 LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP +1.216
    9 Ryusei Yamanaka 🇯🇵 FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI +1.240
    10 Valentín Perrone 🇦🇷 Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.289
    11 Luca Lunetta 🇮🇹 SIC58 Squadra Corse +4.973
    12 Maximo Quiles 🇪🇸 CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team +5.005
    13 Álvaro Carpe 🇪🇸 Red Bull KTM Ajo +5.067
    14 Scott Ogden 🇬🇧 CIP Green Power +8.197
    15 Marcos Uriarte 🇪🇸 LEVELUP-MTA +17.124
    16 Riccardo Rossi 🇮🇹 Rivacold Snipers Team +18.135
    17 Marco Morelli 🇦🇷 GRYD – Mlav Racing +18.167
    18 Ruche Moodley 🇿🇦 DENSSI Racing – BOE +19.079
    19 Dennis Foggia 🇮🇹 CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team +19.505
    20 Nicola Carraro 🇮🇹 Rivacold Snipers Team +20.330
    21 Noah Dettwiler 🇨🇭 CIP Green Power +24.386
    22 Eddie O’Shea 🇬🇧 GRYD – Mlav Racing +27.245
    23 Stefano Nepa 🇮🇹 SIC58 Squadra Corse +31.955
    24 Arbi Aditama 🇮🇩 Honda Team Asia +58.381
    NC Cormac Buchanan 🇳🇿 DENSSI Racing – BOE 9 Laps
    NC Jacob Roulstone 🇦🇺 Red Bull KTM Tech3 9 Laps
  • Guevara Bows Out With a Dominant Win

    Guevara Bows Out With a Dominant Win

    The World Champion led every lap en route to his seventh win of the Moto3 season.

    After taking pole position on Saturday, Moto2-bound Izan Guevara was showing no signs of going quietly into the night. Having won the previous three Spanish rounds, he was the clear favourite to take victory in Valencia.

    The polesitter was joined on the front row by KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü and Aspar teammate Sergio Garcia, who was battling Dennis Foggia and Ayumu Sasaki for second place in the championship.

    As the race began, Guevara led the field down to turn one, immediately trying to breakaway from the swarm of bikes behind him. The Spaniard quickly settled into rhythm with the KTM of Öncü in tow.

    The leading pair were evenly matched for pace in the opening laps and Öncü seemed content to tuck in behind Guevara as they pulled away from Garcia in third.

    Italian rider Riccardo Rossi ended his season early on lap nine, crashing out at turn six.

    With the leading duo two seconds clear of Garcia on lap 10, Öncü appeared to be distracted by something on the bike. He pulled what looked like tape off and discarded it, adding some intrigue to what was an uncharacteristically dull Moto3 race.

    On lap 14, turn six claimed another victim as Visiontrack Racing’s Scott Ogden crashed out. A lap later, the Brit was joined by Taiyo Furusato who fell at the same corner. Three laps passed before turn six saw its fourth and final rider fall, as Xavi Artigas lost the front of his CFMOTO machine.

    With the race heading towards its conclusion, Foggia lunged from sixth to fourth, passing Sasaki to seal third in the championship standings.

    Meanwhile at the front, it was a last-lap showdown between Guevara and Öncü. The Turkish rider showed his hand on turn eight with a stunning move to take the lead for the first time in the race. However the Champion showed his class and composure with a measured pass at the final corner to re-establish his lead and take his seventh win of the 2022 season.

    Öncü was second, agonisingly close to his first win in Moto3. Interestingly he managed to finish every race this season, and was the only rider in the class to do so. Garcia came home in third to seal a historic 1-2 in the Championship for Team Aspar.

    Foggia held onto fourth to take third in the world standings and Brazilian rider Diogo Moreira was named Rookie of the Year.

    Feature Image: MotoGP

  • McPhee Wins a Classic in Malaysia

    McPhee Wins a Classic in Malaysia

    John McPhee battled his way through the field from 22nd on the grid to take a well deserved win in his penultimate race in Moto3.

    It was a difficult weekend for the Scotsman who admitted that after a disappointing result in qualifying, he felt like giving up there and then.

    It’s been a brutal season for the 28-year-old who broke his back in a training session before round two in Indonesia, an injury that could have ended his career.

    As the lights went out, polesitter Dennis Foggia got bogged down on the damp side of the track, allowing Izan Guevara to lead the field into turn one. The newly crowned champion was unable to break away and was engulfed by a swarm of riders before the end of the first lap.

    On lap two Angeluss MTA rider Stefano Nepa suffered a nasty highside at turn nine. Fortunately everyone managed to avoid the Italian who was helped off the track by the marshals.

    With the championship decided, all eyes were on the battle for second. Sergio Garcia bolstered his claim by battling with David Muñoz, Jaume Masia, Diogo Moreira and the aforementioned Foggia for the lead.

    Muñoz crashed out on lap four, just behind him Tatsuki Suzuki also fell, but was able to continue. The fastest man on track was Max Racing’s Ayumu Sasaki, who was reeling in the lead group lap by lap.

    It was scrappy at the front with several riders exchanging positions, allowing Sasaki to join the party. The Japanese rider made short work of his rivals and was soon behind Guevara at the front of the field.

    The drama continued at the start of lap 13 as Riccardo Rossi fell at turn one. Further back Carlos Tatay pulled into the garage, ending his day early. Sasaki made his move for the lead at turn 15, sliding underneath Guevara but a poor exit from the corner caused the Spaniard to shunt the back of his bike. It was a scary moment, but fortunately both riders stayed upright.

    The constant battling at the front allowed McPhee to latch onto the lead group and it wasn’t long before he was in a tussle with teammate Sasaki. With just a few laps remaining Garcia led from Masia, Foggia, Sasaki, McPhee and Moreira.

    Taiyo Furusato crashed at the start of lap 16 as Foggia moved up to second, hot on Garcia’s tail. With just one lap remaining, victory was there for the taking.

    Foggia took the lead at turn 10 but it only lasted for a matter of seconds before Masia muscled his way to the front. Moments later McPhee capitalised on the melee and snatched the top spot.

    There were desperate lunges into the final corner, but the Scot held his nerve and the lead to take his fourth win in Moto3, in what is expected to be his penultimate Grand Prix. Sasaki was second to secure a 1-2 for Max Racing with Garcia in third.

    The results mean Garcia retains second place in the standings with 241 points, Foggia stays in third with 233 and Sasaki is just behind in fourth with 227. Only one round remains in the 2022 season, the Grand Prix of Valencia in a fortnights’ time.

    Feature Image: MotoGP