SPIELBERG, Austria – Miguel Oliveira delivered a stunning MotoGP victory for Red Bull KTM Tech 3 during the 900th race in the history of the premier class Sunday at the Red Bull Ring.
Joan Mir got the holeshot ahead of polesitter Pol Espargaro, who recorded KTM’s first pole in the premier class on Saturday. Mir then took control of the race and looked commanding at the front, closely pursued by Takaaki Nakagami and Jack Miller.
However, an incident with Maverick Viñales saw him leap off his bike at high speed after a brake issue before it crashed into the fence and caught fire, caused the race to be red-flagged. From there, a 12-lap restart was ordered.
Fervent action in the pits then saw many riders change their Michelin Power Slick tires for what was suddenly a sprint race, resulting in five of the six specifications making the grid for the restart, with just the hard rear overlooked.
As the race started Espargaro took the lead, but was closely chased by a six-rider freight train consisting of Miller – who got to the front on the first lap – Oliviera, Mir, Nakagami, Andrea Dovizioso and Brad Binder.
It became obvious as the laps wore on that the grip provided from the Michelin tires would play a part as the race neared its climax. This proved to be the case, as the lead changed hands on the final-lap between Espargaro and Miler.
As the pair arrived at the last corner, neither man yielded and pushed each other wide, leaving the door open for Oliveira to take victory on the final turn.
It was Oliveira’s first win in the premier class and also signaled the maiden MotoGP class victory for the French-based Tech 3 team.
Miller came home second with Espargaro in third, followed by Mir and Dovizioso.
Alex Rins came across the line in sixth, closely followed by Nakagami in seventh. Binder was eighth, with Valentino Rossi ninth and Iker Lecuona in 10th.
Championship leader Fabio Quartararo finished 13th and now leads the standings by 13 points over Dovizioso after five rounds.