Angel Piqueras came out on top to clinch the Moto3 race victory in Austria after a closely fought battle.
The Spaniard held his nerve in the final sector to pick up his third race win of the season, edging out Ryusei Yamanaka and David Munoz.
Polesitter Valentin Perrone and second-place qualifier Piqueras switched places down into Turn 1, before rookie Quiles fought his way through to join the lead group.
Maximo Quiles, Perrone, Piqueras, and now Yamanka were the lead quartet in the early phases, contesting in an ongoing battle.
Quiles, in particular, was strongest in the second and third sectors, allowing him to stretch a marginal lead into Lap 3.
The 17-year-old remained in the lead for the next two laps, but the leading three riders behind squabbled for track position.
Quiles managed to build a 0.3-second lead, but as is typical in Moto3, maintaining or extending a gap is always a challenge.
By Lap 6, the most significant gap on track was between Perrone and Leopard Racing rider Adrian Fernandez, trailed by over 2.1 seconds as he led the second core group.
Japanese rider Yamanaka made a successful move on Quiles to take the lead for the first time, but this crucial stage of the race was all about conserving both front and rear tyres.
Quiles retook the lead into Turn 1 on Lap 9, before Piqueras sneaked his way through to slot himself behind the CFMoto rider.
His pace was evident as he looked to stretch the lead again, but he had to tread carefully in the second half after receiving a track limits warning.
KTM Tech3 rider Perrone didn’t make any moves in the first half of the race, but stayed tucked in behind the leading trio, while the gap between him and Fernandez had shrunk to 1.6 seconds by the halfway mark.
The polesitter made a decisive move on Yamanaka into Turn 1 on Lap 12, likely benefiting from the tyre life he had carefully preserved over the first ten laps.
Quiles made a costly mistake at the same corner, dropping back to third and allowing the gap between fourth and fifth to shrink from 1.6 to 1.2 seconds.
But incredibly, the Spaniard swooped around the outside at Turn 1 on Lap 13 to take the lead once more.
He led for the following four laps before a small error in the third sector caused him to slip back to third place.
Argentine rider Perrone then led proceedings, but Quiles’ rapid pace saw him regain the lead once again heading into the penultimate lap.
Japanese star Taiyo Furosato displayed rapid speed to close in and join the lead quartet with two laps to go.
David Munoz followed the Japanese star, then punted Quiles and Perrone off at the penultimate corner to move into second.
Piqueras secured a crucial third win of the year, narrowing the championship gap to Jose Antonio Rueda.
Yamanka and Munoz entered the fold right at the end to secure the final podium spots, followed by Quiles and title leader Rueda.
Furusato sealed sixth for Honda Team Asia, crossing the line a second clear of the second CFMoto rider of Dennis Foggia.
Polesitter Perrone inevitably finished eighth, closely followed by Fernandez and fellow rookie Guido Puni.
Alvaro Carpe endured a quiet race to secure 11th for KTM, pipping Joel Kelso and David Almansa to the line.
Jacob Roulstone and Scott Ogden secured the final two points, finishing 14th and 15th, respectively.
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