Sunday, October 20, 2024, 08:34
Throughout the weekend David Alonso seemed like a different driver. With the Moto3 championship already in his pocket since the last event in Japan, the Colombian Hispanic recognized that he had relaxed and was having a hard time maintaining concentration and intensity. So he had put several challenges on his particular horizon to preserve that tension. The first of them, that of exceeding the maximum score in a season, was within reach and he beat it this Sunday. But the one he was most excited about was breaking the record for victories in the lightweight class and, for now, he has already equaled it.
The brand was held alone by a certain Valentino Rossi when he won his first 125 cc title in the now distant 1997. Since this Sunday he shares it with David Alonso, who still has three grand prizes ahead of him to improve it. And since the Colombian Hispanic has become fond of celebrations with a message, he appeared at the podium ceremony with his head bandaged. Just as the nine-time world champion climbed to the box in his day when he achieved his eleventh victory in Indonesia. «For me it is an honor to emulate the Valentino celebration. He is an inspiration for everyone and this sport is what it is thanks to the fact that he placed it at the top,” commented Alonso, who had not been born when Rossi had already been proclaimed champion.
Alonso in 2024 is being a military ride and winning alone with a Moto3 on the very fast Phillip Island circuit is only within the reach of the chosen ones. He does what he wants, when he wants. He remained in the background until the decisive phase of the race arrived. As he had done so many times this year. With five laps to go he took the lead and three laps he gave the final push to break the group and open that gap over the second, which allowed him to celebrate his historic victory with the ‘World Champion’ board, which they could not show him in the last race in Japan.
The Moto3 race was a constant fight from the first to the last lap. Ask Holgado, who crashed at the start and placed 21st. The man from Alicante had to come back to finish second in a photo finish podium where four drivers entered in thousandths and with Adrián Fernández third. Holgado’s podium was worth its weight in gold in a key runner-up position, since his two rivals, Iván Ortolá and the Dutchman Veijer, crashed halfway through the race and did not score points. The one from Sant Vicent del Raspeig has a margin of 23 points with 75 left to play.
