Romano Fenati capped off a dominant Silverstone weekend with a win from pole after leading every lap of the Moto3 contest.
The Italian managed to hold the lead off the start around the outside of Copse, the MAX Racing man immediately utilising the speed that had allowed him to top every session prior to the race as he started to break up the field.
He dragged his two countryman-namely Niccollo Antonelli and Andrea Migno-away with him from the chasing pack, led by Leopard Racing’s Dennis Foggia.
Such was the raw pace of Fenati that he had pulled a near three second lead over the now third placed Foggia only half-a-dozen tours into the encounter, Migno having suffered a heartbreaking mechanical fault a lap prior while running in the wheel tracks of the leading duo.
Fenati to control proceedings out in front across the remaining laps, the gap between him and Antonelli remaining slender though as the Avintia racer had designs on stealing victory at the death, the gap to their chasers behind remaining consistently just over three seconds.
The leading pace proved just a little too hot for the still slightly-injured Antonelli over the final few laps though, allowing Fenati to charge out to just over a second lead with a lap remaining, leaving him well out of slipstream range while a closing Foggia and Izan Guevara could smell blood emanating from the fading Antonelli.
Fenati ultimately took the chequered flag 1.6 seconds clear to end off a dominant weekend with an equally commanding first victory of the year, while Antonelli was able to cling onto a strong second to the tune of just half-a-second over Foggia in the end.
Guevara came home a strong fourth to claim his best ever Moto3 world championship result, while Tatsuki Suzuki came out on top in the close battle for fifth several seconds further back.
Jaume Masia was sixth ahead of a recovering Darryn Binder, who came from 16th on the grid to finish seventh-though the Petronas SRT rider ran fifth well within range of the leaders after a lightning start, the South African just lacking a smidge of pace to make the difference.
Denis Oncu was eighth on the leading Ajo KTM machine ahead of Riccardo Rossi, while Carlos Tatay held off John McPhee-who had dropped to last after being run off the circuit on the opening tour-to complete the top ten.
Title contenders Pedro Acosta and Sergio Garcia enjoyed a spirited battle to close out the top ten throughout as the lost touch with the leading riders early on, the pair fighting hard as Garcia looked to trim the Spaniard’s series lead further.
He found himself shuffled back on the final lap to a lowly 17th though, giving him no points as Acosta managed to salvage 12th-therefore extending his lead to 45 over the GasGas pilot having travelled to Silverstone 41 clear, Fenati having closed to 68 adrift following his success.
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