Buriram, Thailand, October 3rd - Tony Arbolino, who has been making good progress over the last few races, returned to winning ways in Thailand. The Elf rider won in a race shortened by eight laps because of the heavy rain.
It was a well-deserved point for Raul Fernandez in Thailand. Unable to ride the FP3 due to stomach pains, the KTM rider was not at his best for the race. “Luckily, the rain made things easier for me," he explained. “Thanks to the less physically demanding conditions, I was able to fight with Binder and the Aprilia riders. I could have almost certainly finished in the top ten if I hadn't lost the feeling in the last laps. Still, I'm happy to get a point." For Remy Gardner, the race came to a premature end. He was also hoping to take advantage of the rain to get into the top ten, but unfortunately the Australian crashed on lap 12 and was unable to restart.
Tony Arbolino had never won in the rain before, but the Italian managed to do so in Thailand after qualifying on the front row of the grid. Only ninth on the first lap, the Elf Marc VDS rider kept his composure and quickly moved up to the front. “I was feeling really confident," he said. “I took my time overtaking, I felt great on the bike because the team did a great job all weekend. This is my first win in the wet, I'm really happy.” Recovered from his injuries, Sam Lowes was finally able to race this weekend, something he has not been able to do since June. Having not had the opportunity to ride in the wet before the start, the Brit preferred not to take any unnecessary risks, to finish the race in nineteenth position.
For the first time since the start of the season, Deniz Öncü did not score any points at the finish of the seventeenth race of the season. Hampered by the finger he injured in Japan, the KTM Tech 3 rider struggled to fight his way through the field and in the end finished in seventeenth place. For Adrian Fernandez, the Thai Grand Prix was over before the end of the first lap. “As is often the case in Moto3, the start was chaotic," commented the Spaniard. “I got stuck on the inside and unfortunately I made the mistake of braking too late. I'm sorry I took out Sergio Garcia with my crash."
| CATEGORY | RIDER | RACE | CHAMPIONSHIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOTOGP |
Remy Gardner |
DNF |
23rd (9 points) |
|
Raul Fernandez |
15th |
24th (9 points) |
|
| MOTO2 |
Sam Lowes |
19th |
16th (51 points) |
|
Tony Arbolino |
1st |
5th (150.5 points) |
|
| MOTO3 |
Deniz Öncü |
17th |
6th (154 points) |
|
Adrian Fernandez |
DNF |
20th (40 points) |
