In an absolute nail-biting finish to the 2020 MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix, Miguel Oliveira took a last-corner double-overtake to bag his career's maiden win and the first-ever for team Tech3 KTM. The rider was running third behind top riders Pol Espargaro on the factory KTM and Pramac Ducati's Jack Miller and made a last-corner pass in a thrilling show of performance. In a repeat of sorts over last Sunday, the Styrian GP was divided into two parts with the original race halted after works Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales bailed off his bike at 230 kmph due to brake failure at Turn 1. While the Spaniard escaped the crash unhurt, his bike was totalled in the fence.
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Espargaro and Miller ran wide on the final corner that allowed Oliveira to make a double-pass just before the chequered flag was out
The Styrian GP was restarted for a 12-lap race after being red-flagged post the Vinales incident. Joan Mir of Suzuki was leading the race after the first start followed by Takaaki Nakagami of LCR Honda and Jack Miller in the top spots. When the race restarted, Mir was back in the lead but that was short-lived as Miller showed better pace on his Ducati that was fitted with a new front soft tyre as against the Suzuki's rider medium that had already done 18 laps. Despite the pace, Mir couldn't keep up with the top riders and soon faded away as Pol Espargaro and Oliveira moved past him to take P2 and P3 respectively by Lap 6.
Miller couldn't hold on to the lead for long though as Espargaro made his move on the final corner of Lap 7 to take the top spot in the team's home race. The rider was now looking at a defensive strategy to keep Miller at bay with the team was hoping for a second consecutive win at the Red Bull Ring. However, Miller was breathing down Espargaro's neck lap-after-lap with Oliveira running third behind the top riders. It was a closely held pack right down to the final lap and it seemed KTM was poised to take its second win of the season. At the penultimate corner of the race, things changed dramatically as Espargaro tried to hold off Miller but ran slightly wide allowing the Pramac rider to pull up alongside the race leader on the final turn.
Pol Espargaro led the race at the start of the final lap, closely followed by Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira
Miller pushed Espargaro off the racing line but also ran wide, which allowed Oliveira to pass both the riders in a showdown during the final seconds. The Portuguese rider went on to secure his and the satellite team's maiden win in MotoGP in the 900th premier-class race. Miller crossed the finish line in second place followed by Espargaro taking the final spot on the podium.
Finishing behind the top riders was Joan Mir, followed by Austrian GP winner Andrea Dovizioso after starting at P8 on the grid. Suzuki's Alex Rins crossed the chequered flag at P6, ahead of Nakagami. KTM's Brad Binder managed to finish at P8 with Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and Tech3 KTM's Iker Lecuona rounding up the top ten in the race.
Maverick Vinales bailed off his Yamaha at 230 kmph after realising a brake failure on his M1
Danilo Petrucci on the factory Ducati managed to finish at P11 with Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia taking P12. Fabio Quartararo had another forgettable race with a P13 finish. However, the surprising top three scorers over the past two races have helped the satellite rider retain the points lead in the championship, albeit with the gap now down to just three points over Dovizioso.
On the podium - Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro
Avintia Ducati's Johann Zarco started the race from the pitlane as a penalty for last weekend's crash with Franco Morbidelli but managed to score two points for the team finishing 14th. Morbidelli on the SRT Yamaha took the final point in the race ahead of Repsol Honda's Alex Marquez, LCR's Cal Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl on the second factory Honda. The final finishers in the race were Bradley Smith on the Aprilia, Michele Pirro on the Pramac Ducati and Tito Rabat of Avintia Racing. Vinales was the only retirement in the Styrian GP.
