[Sport] Moto3 season retrospective

One of the forms of motorsport that has captured my interest in recent years has been MotoGP, not to mention its two support series Moto2 and Moto3. I used to watch MotoGP years ago, but in the early 2000s I lost interest. The top category became pretty dull, and the lower divisions were hard to find (although the racing in 125cc was epic). But over the last four or five years the BBC have started showing all three classes live, either on TV or on their website, so I've been able to start watching again . The quality of racing has also increased with new riders coming through, and some rules changes that have made a huge difference: the introduction of CRT bikes to MotoGP, and the replacement of 125cc and 250cc by Moto3 and Moto2 respectively.

(Credit: motogp.com)

This year I've managed to watch most of the races live, and I wanted to get some thoughts down on the page about the three seasons. I'll start with Moto3, and with Moto2 and MotoGP following in short order.

So, Moto3. The rules are fairly new; in fact this is only their second year. But the racing is as good as ever. This year the category was again dominated by Spanish riders, with the championship going down to the wire between three of them. Chassis wise it was KTM that were on top, with all three contenders on their bike.

The three contenders were Alex Rins, Luis Salom, and the amazingly named Maverick Vinales. The race wins were split between them, but it was consistency from all three that kept them close together in the standings. On any given race weekend you could predict who would be up at the front - it would be these three, plus one or more of the 'second tier' riders. But always these three. Salom would usually hang back at the start, staying in touch but saving his energy and tires. Then near the end of the race he'd suddenly turn up the wick, hit the front, and often come out on top. Rins was usually more aggressive, hitting the front early on and then fighting to the end. Vinales was often the loser out of the three; with a slightly slower bike he knew he had to push harder, and it often led to him running out of tires and falling to third. But he was consistent, and going into the last couple of races was still in touch.

The Moto3 field at Catalunya. This is near the start of the race, but it was often like this right to the end. (Credit: thecheckeredflag.co.uk)

The last two races, at Motegi in Japan and Valencia in Spain, were amazing. In both it was the usual suspects at the front, but at Motegi Salom crashed out, leaving Rins to lead. He then let it get to him, and also crashed out, leaving Vinales to capitalise. Going into Valencia it was winner takes all, and once again Salom crashed! For someone who hadn't put a foot wrong all year, and had led from the front, it was an amazing collapse, and you had to wonder if the pressure became too much. Vinales was left at the front, and he managed to stave off the attack from Rins, who'd tried the Salom approach. It didn't fit his natural style though, and Vinales crossed the line to become World Champion despite having the fewest wins of the three contenders. It was spectacular.

Outside of those three there were great showings from Jonas Folger and Jack Miller, the only non-Spanish riders to really be a factor, as well as Rins' teammate Alex Marquez. The disappointment of the season was, for me, Romano Fenati, who looked good in his debut season last year but never really got near the front this time around. But the season belonged to Rins, Salom, and Vinales. They played high-speed chess all season long, and every single race was exciting right to the end. But you got the impression that there was respect between them too, because the racing was almost always incredibly clean.

Vinales leads Salom, Rins, Folger, and Miller at Valencia. The racing was this close all year. (Credit: motogp.com)

I've loved Moto3 next year. The racing has been close and exciting, and I think the rules change in 2012 really reinvigorated the lowest category on the MotoGP ladder. I can't wait for next year (wherever I get to watch it).