Cortese wins as Australian Sissis stars in Moto3

The Moto3 field race through Honda Corner on the opening lap (PIC: Ben O’Connor/Speedcafe.com)
Recently crowned 2012 Moto3 World Champion Sandro Cortese has taken his fifth win of the season at Phillip Island in a Grand Prix that saw Australian hope Arthur Sissis star with a maiden podium finish.
Pole-sitter Cortese dropped as low as fifth in the opening corners before working his way back to the lead by one-third distance.
Cortese and eventual second-place finisher Miguel Oliveira then managed to break away from the chasing pack, with both riders spending time at the front before the German put the hammer down with three laps to go, eventually taking the win by 2.11s.
The result marked Oliveira’s best-ever Grand Prix finish, and came after the Portuguese rider fell from his Suter twice during the morning warm-up session.
The battle for third proved intense right to the chequered flag, with Sissis edging fourth-placed Alex Rins by just 0.05.
Danny Kent, Romano Fenati, Alessandro Tonucci and Efren Vazquez filled fifth through eighth, with Vazquez less than one second behind Sissis at the finish.
Category wild man Maverick Vinales had been in the thick of the third-placed battle before crashing out at Siberia with eight laps to go.
Early leader Zulfahmi Khairudden was also a late retirement after suffering mechanical problems while holding down ninth.
Jonas Folger, Luis Salom and Louis Rossi joined Khairudden in the top five during the early laps but each had their chances dashed by jump-start penalties.
Australian Jack Miller was another to fall foul of start-line eagerness, with the Australian eventually finishing 21st after serving his ride-through.
Results, Moto3, Phillip Island
Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
1 | 25 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE | GER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 160.1 | 38’20.014 |
2 | 20 | 44 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | POR | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Suter Honda | 160.0 | +2.108 |
3 | 16 | 61 | Arthur SISSIS | AUS | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 159.8 | +5.031 |
4 | 13 | 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 | Suter Honda | 159.8 | +5.084 |
5 | 11 | 52 | Danny KENT | GBR | Red Bull KTM Ajo | KTM | 159.8 | +5.107 |
6 | 10 | 5 | Romano FENATI | ITA | Team Italia FMI | FTR Honda | 159.8 | +5.109 |
7 | 9 | 19 | Alessandro TONUCCI | ITA | Team Italia FMI | FTR Honda | 159.8 | +5.374 |
8 | 8 | 7 | Efren VAZQUEZ | SPA | JHK t-shirt Laglisse | FTR Honda | 159.7 | +5.894 |
9 | 7 | 12 | Alex MARQUEZ | SPA | Ambrogio Next Racing | Suter Honda | 158.0 | +30.783 |
10 | 6 | 32 | Isaac VIÑALES | SPA | Ongetta-Centro Seta | FTR Honda | 158.0 | +30.911 |
11 | 5 | 94 | Jonas FOLGER | GER | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 | Kalex KTM | 157.9 | +32.803 |
12 | 4 | 26 | Adrian MARTIN | SPA | JHK t-shirt Laglisse | FTR Honda | 157.8 | +33.302 |
13 | 3 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | CZE | Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta | FTR Honda | 157.8 | +33.479 |
14 | 2 | 41 | Brad BINDER | RSA | RW Racing GP | Kalex KTM | 157.8 | +34.102 |
15 | 1 | 39 | Luis SALOM | SPA | RW Racing GP | Kalex KTM | 157.1 | +43.749 |
16 | 89 | Alan TECHER | FRA | Technomag-CIP-TSR | TSR Honda | 157.1 | +43.827 | |
17 | 23 | Alberto MONCAYO | SPA | Andalucia JHK t-shirt Laglisse | FTR Honda | 156.8 | +49.394 | |
18 | 80 | Armando PONTONE | ITA | Ioda Team Italia | Ioda | 155.6 | +1’06.551 | |
19 | 17 | John McPHEE | GBR | Caretta Technology | KRP Honda | 155.6 | +1’06.588 | |
20 | 96 | Louis ROSSI | FRA | Racing Team Germany | FTR Honda | 155.5 | +1’08.801 | |
21 | 8 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Caretta Technology | Honda | 155.5 | +1’08.908 | |
22 | 51 | Kenta FUJII | JPN | Technomag-CIP-TSR | TSR Honda | 155.4 | +1’10.030 | |
23 | 30 | Giulian PEDONE | SWI | Ambrogio Next Racing | Suter Honda | 155.4 | +1’10.411 | |
24 | 75 | Lincoln GILDING | AUS | K1 Racing | Honda | 153.9 | +1’33.510 | |
25 | 36 | Sam CLARKE | AUS | Fastline GP Racing | Honda | 147.7 | 1 Lap | |
Not Classified | ||||||||
63 | Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN | MAL | AirAsia-Sic-Ajo | KTM | 158.8 | 4 Laps | ||
9 | Toni FINSTERBUSCH | GER | Racing Team Germany | Honda | 154.3 | 7 Laps | ||
25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Blusens Avintia | FTR Honda | 159.9 | 9 Laps | ||
31 | Niklas AJO | FIN | TT Motion Events Racing | KTM | 156.0 | 12 Laps | ||
29 | Luca AMATO | GER | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 | Kalex KTM | 156.8 | 15 Laps | ||
20 | Riccardo MORETTI | ITA | Mahindra Racing | Mahindra | 142.2 | 22 Laps |