Indian Moto3: Dominant Masia escapes for Buddh win

Round thirteen of the championship belonged to Jaume Masia, winning the first Indian Moto3 race in dominant style as the battle for the remaining podium places heated up behind on the final lap.

Polesitter Masia got a great start aboard his Honda, along with Ayumu Sasaki - and it didn’t take long for the duo to escape out front.

Fighting each other and the heat - the race had a slightly reduced distance because of the temperatures - lap ten saw Sasaki start to fade back, while the Leopard man kept his lapping constant.

That meant Masia was comfortable out front alone to lead over the line by a sizable 5.477s.

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Toba on top in battle behind

Sasaki falling back into the clutches of the next pair on track gave four final laps of electric action, lasting all the way to the chequered flag.

Both Kaito Toba and his Liqui Moly Husqvarna teammate Collin Veijer saw an opportunity, but inevitably with three riders chasing two podium spots, someone was set to miss out.

Wide moves and tense passing soon gave way to a scrap, with SIC58 Squadra Corse rider Toba forced out onto the paint on the penultimate lap by his fellow countryman, with the duo soon going all in again banging elbows with each other.

Veijer saw his chance, but the door was shut by a wide running Sasaki, leaving the rider from the Netherlands heartbroken and angry in the gravel.

That contact allowed Toba to steal second - his first podium since Qatar last year as his late season upturn in form continued, with Sasaki completing the podium.

Damage limitation sees Holgado take fourth

Daniel Holgado was off the pace again in qualifying, leading to a 18th placed start. A quick reaction at lights out saw the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider up to eighth after a handful of corners. The Spaniard continued to work hard and as the riders in front faded in the heat, coupled with some tough passing he was able to continue his forward progress.

Battling with David Alonso for position - another rider with work to do from 17th on the grid - Holgado found a way past on lap ten and held firm, an important result with most of his main title rivals finishing ahead despite his progress in the race.

That left Gaviota GasGas rider Alonso fifth, one again the top rookie in the race, though not quite matching his recent highs after an amazing run of form had seen him win three of the previous four rounds.

Sixth went to David Munoz, the BOE Motorsports rider was yet another man needing to make up for his qualifying performance, converting 14th on the grid to sixth with some strong overtaking moves.

Riccardo Rossi was right behind the #44 at the line for seventh on the second SIC58 entry, with Ivan Ortola moving through the pack from twelfth to finish two seconds behind the Italian, in eighth for the Angeluss MTA team.

His teammate Stefano Nepa was next to take the flag, with rookie Jose Antonio Rueda collecting another top ten finish for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

The Spaniard enjoyed a battle to the line with Fillipo Farioli, with the Tech3 rider forced to settle for eleventh. Xavier Artigas was in the same battle, finishing twelfth for CFMoto PreustelGP.

13th went to a fading Diogo Moreira, who went from third on the first lap to only just hold on to a points finish after an additional penalty for exceeding track limits too often, dropping him back further once he hit tenth as he faded away on the MT Helmets - MSI entry.

Deniz Oncu started at the back of the grid and soon took his long lap penalty for ignoring the black flag put out for not attending the medical centre after his Saturday crash.

That put the Turkish rider on the back of the lead pack, but as the leaders escaped, his hopes of a fairytale podium did too, so a points finish was the best on offer for the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider, in 14th.

The final point was picked up by Ryusei Yamanaka on the second MT Helmets entry. Joshua Whatley just missed out in 16th for VisionTrack.

Crashes, injuries and replacements

Whatley was the only VisionTrack rider to finish - after a strong start, early contact on Holgado saw Scott Ogden knocked back through the field as he avoided the incident. A highside later in the race saw him out of contention, collecting birthday boy Tatsuki Suzuki as he fell.

Joel Kelso was the first rider to exit, with one lap completed, his violent crash left him strewn on track, but was okay to move off himself.

Matteo Bertelle was next to exit after earning a front row start, third at the time he pushed too hard trying to minimise the gap created by Sasaki and Masia.

David Salvador and Taiyo Furusato also failed to finish. Salvador was later transferred to hospital for further checks.

Romano Fenati’s was injured in practice, out of the race after picking up a foot fracture.

Petronas MIE/MLav Racing added two wildcards to the entry list. Daniel Shahril  placed 20th out of 21 finishers, with Syarfuddin Azman, who crashed and remounted the only rider behind him.

Home rider Kadal Yaseen Ahamed did not record a time within the 105% limit by the end of practice so was not allowed to race.

Where does that leave the championship?

Moto3 could not be much closer after the completion of the Indian GP - just one point now seperates the top three.

Masia had looked certain to take over at the top with his win moving him onto 174, but the late exit of Veijer saw Holgado gain a place and the points needed to tie the lead.

Second sees Sasaki just one point behind on a total of 173.