Izan Guevara secured the 2022 Moto3 world title in commanding style with two races to spare by scoring victory at Phillip Island ahead of Deniz Oncu.
Rather than cruising around to bank points to pad his stout 49 point advantage entering the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Guevara got stuck into the battle from the get-go and tussled with the likes of GasGas team-mate Sergio Garcia and MAX Racing’s Ayumu Sasaki in the opening laps to try and build a gap out in front.
A lead group of eight swiftly managed to break away from the field after only around eight laps, a pack that just half-a-dozen tours later became lead quartet comprised of Guevara, Garcia, Sasaki as well as Oncu.
The lead pack battled between them as they set a blistering pace well out in front of the rest, though it would be Guevara that hit the peak of the contest when it mattered at the start of the final circulation.
The Spaniard managed to string together a rapid final tour to just remain clear of attack of Oncu, who instead was forced to fend off the advances of the closing Garcia and Sasaki.
Guevara’s hard work ultimately paid off as he streaked across the line to take the chequered flag 0.345s clear of Oncu to secure his sixth victory of 2022, one that wrapped up the rider’s championship with two events still remaining.
Garcia would complete the rostrum positions just 0.460s adrift of his team-mate, while Sasaki would have to make do with fourth just a further tenth-of-a-second behind.
Stefano Nepa would secure a distant fifth as the second quartet fell away from the lead group, the Italian getting the better of the sister MAX Racing entry of John McPhee in the closing tours, while Brazillian rookie Diogo Moreira got the better of home hero Joel Kelso for seventh.
Dennis Foggia’s title charge went down with a whimper after a rather average ride to ninth, the Leopard Racing pilot crossing the line a full 16.7 seconds adrift of championship rival Guevara as he lacked pace throughout, while Ricardo Rossi ended up completing the top ten just behind his countryman.
Daniel Holgado failed to finish after suffering a nasty-looking crash at Turn 8 just a few laps into the encounter, the Ajo KTM racer coming together with Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato during the bend – leaving both out of the race.
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