Misano Moto3 Thriller: Alonso Claims Victory Amid a Guarded Title Fight
Amiable Colombian rider with Spanish roots, David Alonso, delivered a striking performance in the final round at the San Marino Moto3 Grand Prix, held on the Marco Simoncelli circuit in Misano Adriatico. The 17-year-old sealed his third win in the last four events, reinforcing his status as a seasoned challenger on a fast, talent-filled track where speed and nerve collide for the top step of the podium.
Late in the race, Turkish rider Deniz Öncü and Spanish rider Jaume Masiá clashed for the lead, yet Alonso read the moment with a veteran calm. He navigated turn fourteen with precise confidence and turned a tense sprint into another bright milestone for his campaign.
Moments before Moto3 practice began, it was confirmed that David Muñoz would remain with BOE Motorsports in 2024, bringing continuity to the Seville-based squad. This certainty gave Muñoz a clear path as he prepared for his second Italian meet, starting from seventh on the grid—a setup that aided his late-race strategy.
When the lights went out, Ayumu Sasaki surged to the front aboard a Husqvarna, overtaking pole-sitter Masiá on the opening lap before the Spaniard reclaimed the pace. Championship leader Daniel Holgado, the KTM rider, found himself squeezed from eighth as the leading pack formed behind Masiá, who began strong but soon faced a challenging breakaway scenario.
Masiá’s speed was evident in the early laps, posting the fastest times of the race on the second and third circuits and building an early advantage over the group led by Moreira, who rode a close Ducati/KTM pairing. The field surged as Öncü and Moreira stepped up to steady the tempo, with Sasaki, Alonso, Muñoz, and Kaito Toba tucked a few metres back as the peloton wound through Misano’s twists and turns.
During the fifth lap, Masiá kept pressing, but Öncü surged behind with blistering pace, setting a race record early on. The burst did not end the race, yet it highlighted how the field was reshaping into a high-stakes chess match on two wheels.
By the sixth lap the tempo intensified, and a dense group formed around the Dutch rider Veijer, including Sasaki, Muñoz, Alonso, Toba, and Veijer at the helm. The race line became a web of alliances and breaks, with Masiá still leading but with six rivals breathing down his neck as the pack tightened for a critical stretch toward the finish.
In the middle phase, Masiá continued to push, but the margin to rivals shrank as the field regrouped. The race entered a pivotal period where battles for position mattered as much as outright speed, and every corner reminded the riders that the outcome could swing at any moment.
On the eleventh lap Öncü jumped ahead briefly, nudging Masiá and even challenging Muñoz for second as Ortolá and Holgado pressed from behind. The Turkish rider then set the fastest early race time on the twelfth lap, pulling clear with a pace that posed a real threat to the remaining contenders and signaling a potential shift in momentum.
With Öncü at the front, a fresh rhythm emerged. The top four or five riders swapped positions rapidly as the laps peeled away, each trying to seize the advantage in the closing stages. The dynamics of the duel saw Masiá and Alonso watching the play unfold, waiting for the exact moment to strike as the field pressed toward the final laps with everything on the line.
Three laps from the finish, Muñoz briefly lost control of the front wheel in a near-miss that was expertly recovered, leaving him to fall back but not out of title contention. The pecking order remained fluid as the battle for the podium intensified, with Alonso lingering in the mix and Muñoz still within striking distance of the leading quartet.
The final lap presented a dramatic tableau. Öncü led into the last segment, with Masiá and Alonso close behind as the trio jostled for supremacy. Alonso timed his move to perfection, studying the duel between his rivals and striking at the right moment to surge into contention and clinch his third win of the season across the last four races. The podium finished with Alonso first, Masiá second, and Öncü third, while Muñoz stayed in fourth and Veijer, Toba, Sasaki, Ortolá, and Rueda followed in the pack.
World championship leader Holgado faced a rough finale, ending sixteenth after late-lap issues shuffled the standings. Despite the setback, Holgado kept the lead in the championship, though with a slim margin over Sasaki and a slightly wider gap to Masiá, illustrating how unpredictable the title race remains at the season’s final stretch on the Misano circuit.
In the final tally, Alonso stood fifth in the standings with 140 points, while Holgado led with 161 after a tense race day that reshaped the fight for the crown. The event underscored the depth of Moto3 talent, delivering high-stakes racing at every corner and reminding fans that the closing chapters of a season can rewrite the narrative as new heroes emerge on the Adriatic track.