Deniz Oncu grabbed his second Moto3 win of 2023 with a last-gasp move on series leader Daniel Holgado and Ayumu Sasaki at the Red Bull Ring.
The Turkish rider was a continual factor in the leading group across the entirety of the 20-lap contest, Oncu working with Holgado and Sasaki as well as pole-man Collin Veijer and GasGas’ David Alonso to pull well clear of the chasing pack.
Holgado led the majority of the laps as he sustained a strong pace out in front, though Sasaki made his move at the start of the very final lap as he tried to finally secure his first win of the season.
The championship leader was keen to keep his Tech 3-run KTM at the head of the pack though and dived back through at Turn 3, Oncu then getting a run on his fellow KTM ace on the run to Turn 4 – before Sasaki surprised the pair by scything back past into the lead into the bend.
The Japanese rider rode defensively as he desperately tried to hold off his determined adversaries until the very final corner, where Holgado attempted to dive through at the very last moment – the Spaniard’s bold move ultimately pushing both wide and allowing Oncu to slide by and rip away victory by just 0.005s over Holgado.
Sasaki meanwhile was forced to try and fend off rookie Husqvarna team-mate Veijer for the final spot on the rostrum, a task he just about achieved by a narrow margin of 0.017s – Sasaki securing his sixth-successive podium finish.
Ivan Ortola did his best to try and catch the lead quartet having dropped the large second group across the second half of the encounter, though the Angeluss MTA rider eventually had to settle for a distant fifth ahead of Ricardo Rossi, while Ryusei Yamanaka battled through the next pack to claim seventh on his GasGas entry.
Diogo Moreira ended up eighth on his MT Helmets – MSI-run KTM just clear of David Munoz, while Stefano Nepa held off Jose Antonio Rueda to complete the top ten on the sister Angeluss machine.
It was a tough day for Leopard Racing after title contender Jaume Masia went out early with an issue with his throttle, while team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki struggled for speed and could manage only 13th ahead of Kaito Toba and VisionTrack Honda’s Scott Ogden.
Alonso’s promising day also came to a swift end after the Columbian dropped his bike at Turn 2 having just moved into the leadership past half-distance.
Holgado now possesses more than a race wins worth of a points advantage heading into the Catalan event next time out, with Sasaki now 26 markers adrift – while Oncu now sits third overall courtesy of his success a further seven behind.
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