Moto3 proves its worth at Assen

Describing the action in the Moto3 race as ‘edge of the seat’ would be doing it a disservice as the train of battling riders did more than prove the worth of the 250cc four-stroke singles that were introduced this season.

For the entirety of the 22 lap race the fighting was full of gasp-filled moments, in the first half of the race the top 20 were all in the same camera shot and covered by less than 2.5 seconds. Towards the end there was a breakaway group of five riders; Maverick Vinales, Sandro Cortese, Danny Kent, Luis Salom and Louis Rossi.

In a pack that tight the likelihood that one rider would take matters a bit too far was high. This was left to KTM rider Cortese, who has gained a reputation for being slightly too aggressive this year. The German put down some questionable and extreme passes, including all but taking out team-mate Kent – who miraculously saved himself from crashing before the final chicane. The move did court critcism from MotoGP champion Casey Stoner, who tweeted: “Cortese needs to have more than a slap on the wrist for his riding in this race. He's going to cause a huge crash if he's doesn't stop it.”

These five took the jostling for position to another level, as the lead changed on countless occasions. At the end it would be Vinales who made a calculated pass for the win, leaving a photo-finish to decide the remaining podium places. Cortese claimed second from his KTM team-mate Kent, who eventually took third a meager thousandth of a second ahead of Salom.

The race was easily the best from this year and has a place in history, but has Moto3 done enough to win you over or are you still pining for the 125cc two-strokes?

By Robin Goodwin