Danny Kent is World Champion as Oliveira wins in Valencia

Photo: crash.net

After 3 previous chances of clinching the championship, today Danny Kent only needed to finish in 14th place, but after a misfortunate qualifying session, not getting a clear track or chance to push, Danny could only qualify in 18th. It felt like another dose of British bad luck.

Oliveira, now the only rider who could stop Danny winning the title, spent the race out front, needing a win and Kent to finish 14th to become Champion. Fenati, Navarro, Vazquez, were scrapping with the Portugese rider, but Miguel seemed to stamp his authority on the race. Danny rode a very, very cautious race, and after making it to 14th, 13th and 12th, he hovered around that position with his teammate Hiroki Ono. Ono was ahead of Danny, until Danny finally made the decision to make a pass…that was until Hiroki decided to take it back, twice, making the Leopard team extremely nervous at the risk of an accident. 

However, there was no such accident, and after a clumsy crash at the last corner involving Fenati, Antonelli and Vazquez, Danny Kent crossed the line in 9th place. Oliveira rode to yet another awesome victory, his 6th of the year and uqual with Kent. But it wasn’t enough, and Danny Kent has become the first British Grand Prix Champion since Barry Sheene in 1977. 
1. Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 40m 9.792s 

2. Jorge Navarro SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 40m 9.990s 

3. Jakub Kornfeil CZE Drive M7 SIC (KTM) 40m 11.882s 

4. Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 40m 11.913s 

5. Enea Bastianini ITA Gresini Racing Team Moto3 (Honda) 40m 12.767s 

6. Isaac Viñales SPA RBA Racing Team (KTM) 40m 13.135s 

7. John Mcphee GBR SAXOPRINT RTG (Honda) 40m 13.879s 

8. Hiroki Ono JPN Leopard Racing (Honda) 40m 19.419s 

9. Danny Kent GBR Leopard Racing (Honda) 40m 19.706s 

10. Philipp Oettl GER Schedl GP Racing (KTM) 40m 20.372s 

11. Andrea Migno ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 40m 20.453s 

12. Nicolò Bulega ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 40m 21.434s 

13. Francesco Bagnaia ITA MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA (Mahindra) 40m 26.533s 

14. Jorge Martin SPA MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA (Mahindra) 40m 29.988s 

15. Alexis Masbou FRA SAXOPRINT RTG (Honda) 40m 31.323s 

16. Jules Danilo FRA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) 40m 31.344s 

17. Zulfahmi Khairuddin MAL Drive M7 SIC (KTM) 40m 31.660s 

18. Darryn Binder RSA Outox Reset Drink Team (Mahindra) 40m 34.906s 

19. Stefano Manzi ITA San Carlo Team Italia (Mahindra) 40m 35.093s 

20. Livio Loi BEL RW Racing GP (Honda) 40m 35.123s 

21. Maria Herrera SPA Husqvarna Factory Laglisse (Husqvarna) 40m 35.447s 

22. Lorenzo Dalla Porta ITA Husqvarna Factory Laglisse (Husqvarna) 40m 42.765s 

23. Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Gresini Racing Team Moto3 (Honda) 40m 42.811s 

24. Ana Carrasco SPA RBA Racing Team (KTM) 40m 43.341s 

25. Manuel Pagliani ITA San Carlo Team Italia (Mahindra) 40m 43.745s 

Efren Vazquez SPA Leopard Racing (Honda) DNF 

Romano Fenati ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) DNF 

Niccolò Antonelli ITA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) DNF 

Alessandro Tonucci ITA Outox Reset Drink Team (Mahindra) DNF 

Karel Hanika CZE Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) DNF 

Fabio Quartararo FRA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) DNF 

Juanfran Guevara SPA MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA (Mahindra) DNF 

Tatsuki Suzuki JPN CIP (Mahindra) DNF 

Remy Gardner AUS CIP (Mahindra) DNF

Sublime performances by the British riders at the Aragon MotoGP Round

It’s not very often we can say there was a British rider on the podium in two races in the same day!

Danny Kent riding the Husqvarna badged Red Bull AJO KTM started from 2nd and finished 3rd, but considering the performance level of the riders who overtook him in the race, it was a good comeback! It looked as if he could win the race as Fenati and Marquez were tripping over each other, but it was not to be and Danny finished third for the second time this year.

John McPhee had a great start today, dived into fourth at the start, then found himself in 3rd when Miller crashed, and even 2nd at one point. But John made a mistake, crashed out on his own in the tricky conditions. He remounted only to crash again. But we now know he can stay with the best in the class, so watch out for him in Japan. I believe even though he crashed, riding at the very front for that long will have boosted his confidence!

Sam Lowes won’t be the Brit gaining the headlines but considering he qualified in 20th place and finished 9th, he is most definitely the Brit who achieved the most damage limitation. Solid ride for him, considering he’s getting used to a completely new suspension. Gino finished 17th which for him isn’t too bad, we’ve seen him finish lower than 25th before.

And of course we have to mention Cal and Bradley’s superb results in the Premier class. Yes it started to rain. Yes riders ahead of them crashed out. But that’s racing, it happens, Cal and Bradley stayed on and switched tyres at the right time. Cal really did impress me today, not only because he got on the podium, but because he’s the rider Ducati have not given the new bike to. Mr Crutchlow can now always say he got onto the podium riding for Ducati! He really did silence a lot of people today, and I have to admit I was doubting his abilities on the Italian machine at times. Classy podium finish…and nearly beat Aleix for second!

Bradley also beat his Moto2 Champ teammate Espargaro, in a fair fight for fifth. I just hope people will remember this, as a lot of fans dismiss Bradley’s ability to fight and beat Pol.