DOHA (Qatar): Japanese teenager Kaito Toba (pic) snatched victory in the first Moto3 grand prix of the season on Sunday, dramatically overtaking rival Lorenzo Dalla Porta on the final straight in Qatar.
In doing so, the 18-year-old Honda star became the first ever Japanese rider to win in the Moto3 class.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he said afterwards. “This weekend we have worked very, very hard.”
Toba and Dalla Porta were wheel-to-wheel rounding the last corner of the 18-lap race in Doha, but the Japanese rider had just enough speed to grasp victory in the final few metres, winning by less than a wheel’s length.
“I did my best,” said the Italian runner-up, also riding a Honda.
Another teenager, Spain’s Aron Canet, finished third on his KTM.
All three had started on the front row of the grid with Canet, 19, in pole position.
There was also an exceptionally close finish in the Moto 2 race with Italian Lorenzo Baldassarri just edging out Switzerland’s Thomas Luthi to win.
After 20 laps, the pair were separated by just 0.026 of a second at the finish.
Like Toba, Baldassarri won after starting third on the grid.
German Marcel Schrotter, who started on pole took third place.
After warnings throughout the week about difficult racing conditions, 14 riders crashed out of the first two races, with three eliminated on the first corner of the Moto2 event, following a large pile-up. – AFP
