Red flag crowns Mir Moto3 champion

An early red flag for rain has seen Joan Mir take victory at Phillip Island and with it claim the 2017 Moto3 world championship.

Having started on the front row, Mir was leading at the end of lap 15, the point at which results were taken from as heavy rain fell as the field began its 17th lap.

Since the race had reached two-thirds distance before being red flagged, it was declared and not restarted, handing victory to Mir.

The result moves the Honda rider mathematically clear at the top of the championship standings, ending Romano Fenati’s slender hopes of championship glory with two rounds remaining.

Mir worked his way into the lead early in the race, but soon found himself overhauled as a swarm of chasers reeled him in as they headed into Turn 1.

It dropped the Spaniard to sixth before again rising to the lead following a move that saw him climb from sixth to first at Turn 1 on lap six.

He then opened a small gap, and though the pack closed heading into the first corner, he would again open the advantage over the eight-man lead pack during the rest of the lap.

Livio Loi climbed from 21st on the grid to end the race second, putting in a strong ride in support of team-mate Mir, making the first 1-2 for any Moto3 team in 2017.

Pole-sitter Jorge Martin ended the race third after an aggressive ride, while Fenati, who led in the opening laps, was classified sixth behind Gabriel Rodrigo and Enea Bastianini.

Australian wildcard rider Tom Toparis ended the race a lap down in 22nd while six riders were not classified.

Result: Australian Moto3 Grand Prix

Position	Rider	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	Joan MIR	Leopard Racing	Honda	24m51.490s
2	Livio LOI	Leopard Racing	Honda	0.351s
3	Jorge MARTIN	Del Conca Gresini Moto3	Honda	0.359s
4	Gabriel RODRIGO	RBA BOE Racing Team	KTM	0.388s
5	Enea BASTIANINI	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	0.408s
6	Romano FENATI	Marinelli Rivacold Snipers	Honda	0.808s
7	Ayumu SASAKI	SIC Racing Team	Honda	0.834s
8	Adam NORRODIN	SIC Racing Team	Honda	1.291s
9	Tatsuki SUZUKI	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	3.648s
10	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	Aspar Mahindra Moto3	Mahindra	4.005s
11	Nicolo BULEGA	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	4.036s
12	Jakub KORNFEIL	Peugeot MC Saxoprint	Peugeot	4.085s
13	Philipp OETTL	Südmetall Schedl GP Racing	KTM	4.251s
14	Andrea MIGNO	SKY Racing Team VR46	KTM	6.004s
15	Manuel PAGLIANI	CIP	Mahindra	6.540s
16	Bo BENDSNEYDER	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	19.418s
17	Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT	Honda Team Asia	Honda	25.293s
18	Tony ARBOLINO	SIC58 Squadra Corse	Honda	40.800s
19	Maria HERRERA	Aspar Mahindra Moto3	Mahindra	40.858s
20	Kaito TOBA	Honda Team Asia	Honda	43.698s
21	Marcos RAMIREZ	Platinum Bay Real Estate	KTM	1m38.853s
22	Tom TOPARIS	Cube Racing	KTM	1 Lap
23	Juanfran GUEVARA	RBA BOE Racing Team	KTM	1 Lap
24	Darryn BINDER	Platinum Bay Real Estate	KTM	3 Laps
	Aron CANET	Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	5 Laps
	Patrik PULKKINEN	Peugeot MC Saxoprint	Peugeot	6 Laps
	Marco BEZZECCHI	CIP	Mahindra	8 Laps
	Jules DANILO	Marinelli Rivacold Snipers	Honda	10 Laps
	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	Del Conca Gresini Moto3	Honda	11 Laps
	Niccolò ANTONELLI	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	14 Laps
	John MCPHEE	British Talent Team	Honda

Points Standings: Moto3 World Championship

Position	Rider	Bike	Points
1	Joan MIR	Honda	296
2	Romano FENATI	Honda	226
3	Aron CANET	Honda	184
4	Jorge MARTIN	Honda	151
5	Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO	Honda	146
6	Enea BASTIANINI	Honda	114
7	John MCPHEE	Honda	112
8	Andrea MIGNO	KTM	108
9	Marcos RAMIREZ	KTM	107
10	Philipp OETTL	KTM	104
11	Nicolo BULEGA	KTM	81
12	Juanfran GUEVARA	KTM	75
13	Livio LOI	Honda	67
14	Tatsuki SUZUKI	Honda	66
15	Bo BENDSNEYDER	KTM	55
16	Gabriel RODRIGO	KTM	52
17	Adam NORRODIN	Honda	37
18	Niccolò ANTONELLI	KTM	36
19	Darryn BINDER	KTM	35
20	Jules DANILO	Honda	29
21	Jakub KORNFEIL	Peugeot	26
22	Ayumu SASAKI	Honda	25
23	Marco BEZZECCHI	Mahindra	20
24	Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT	Honda	16
25	Albert ARENAS	Mahindra	14
26	Jaume MASIA	KTM	13
27	Dennis FOGGIA	KTM	10
28	Lorenzo DALLA PORTA	Mahindra	9
29	Kaito TOBA	Honda	7
30	Manuel PAGLIANI	Mahindra	7
31	Danny KENT	KTM	6
32	Alex FABBRI	Mahindra	3
33	Tony ARBOLINO	Honda	2
34	Maria HERRERA	Mahindra	1