Quiles (1st) on Almansa: “He pushed me right to my limits!”

David Almansa of the German Intact team was the fastest Moto3 rider on the track during the race weekend at Misano – until he was overtaken by World Championship leader Maximo Quiles (Aspar) in the final corner of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

But first things first: Almansa secured pole position for the sixth time this season at the San Marino Grand Prix. Quiles started the race from fifth on the grid. Right from the start, Almansa showed great determination. The Spaniard controlled the race from the front. Quiles held back initially, but remained in fourth place, within striking distance of the lead. On lap 5, he overtook rookie Brian Uriarte (KTM Ajo), making Quiles Almansa’s closest challenger.

A few laps later, Uriarte reclaimed second place; in the second half of the race, the top three – Almansa, Uriarte and Quiles – pulled clear of the rest of the field. Quiles then stepped up the pace, setting the fastest lap of the race. But he bided his time behind Almansa. The pair managed to open up a gap over Uriarte in the final laps. Then came the showdown: in the very last corner, Quiles overtook Almansa on the inside – he crossed the finish line with a razor-thin lead of 0.021 seconds.

Maximo Quiles

Foto: Gold & Goose

Quiles: “I must congratulate David Almansa”

Quiles claimed his eighth win of the season at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. “It was a very tough race. I must congratulate David Almansa, because he set an impressive pace; we were riding at record-breaking speeds the whole time,” said Maximo Quiles after the race. “He pushed me to my limits; he didn’t make it easy for me, but I decided to give it a go in the last three laps. I watched his manoeuvres closely and knew I wanted to try something in the final corner, even though it depended on whether he’d ride defensively or not. I had a plan, but the strategy could just as easily have backfired. It then went exactly as I’d imagined, and I managed to overtake him. It was a wonderful, impressive race.”

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In the World Championship standings, Quiles has a 107-point lead over Almansa with eight races remaining this season. “The ultimate goal is to win the title, but I don’t want to talk about that at all,” the 18-year-old said, waving the idea aside. “I want to take it one race at a time – that’s what I always say, and I’m going to stick to it. That’s my approach.”