MotoGP Austria: Moto3 race preview

Moto3 heads to Styria with tighter championship standings than expected after a disastrous end to Silverstone for the leading GasGas duo.

When Gaviota GasGas Aspar’s Sergio Garcia was taken out of the British GP, it seemed like a huge goal had suddenly appeared in front of teammate and closest challenger Izan Guevara. However, it wasn’t too long after that dramatic twist that another appeared as Guevara likewise found himself in the gravel, and likewise through no fault of his own. Compounding that, their two closest rivals in the standings, Leopard’s Dennis Foggia and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jaume Masia, came through to capitalise to perfection in a one-two. So what awaits in Austria?

For Garcia it’s a track where he’s shown good form – and had that stunning duel with Pedro Acosta – so there are definitely worse venues to try and stamp some authority back on the standings. For Guevara it’s also known territory, although the number 28 has taken a step everywhere in 2022. Interestingly, the exception so far was seemingly Silverstone, although we never got to see the finish. Was he on to lose that momentum regardless of the bad luck? And how will the new chicane affect Austria form?

Foggia on form, meanwhile, is always one to watch and the Italian came straight back out to win after that difficult end to the first half of the season in Assen. He’ll want to build on that fast, and so will Masia after digging deep to rescue a qualifying performance outside the top 20 into a podium. The Ajo rider will also have home turf glory on his mind for Red Bull, and so will Tech3’s Deniz Öncü after getting on the podium for the first time this season.

The Turk explained he’d changed his mindset this year to balance risk and reward, and