Salom wins in Malaysia in one of closest finishes in 2013 Mo

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Salom wins in Malaysia in one of closest finishes in 2013 Mo

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#Salom wins in #Malaysia in one of closest finishes in 2013 #Moto3


Luis Salom of the Red Bull KTM Ajo factory team on Sunday pulled off a victory in Malaysia that was one of the hardest fought and closest of the current season to extend his lead in the World Championship points.

The Spanish rider, whose win gives him seven for the current season acknowledged that it had been a tough fight after he sealed the race in the final corner of the sweeping Sepang circuit. “This was incredible,” he said. “I think it was the toughest race this year but I the final lap was really beautiful,” Salom said after the race.

Salom started on pole but the 18-lap race soon evolved into an encounter with the usual suspects who are rivals for the championship title – the three other lead Spanish riders Alex Rins, Alex Marquez and Maverick Vinales all on KTM Moto3 racing machines. But when it came to the crunch it was Salom’s finely tuned race craft and his brave late braking in the final corner that gave him the win. All 14 rounds in the 2013 season have been won on KTM machines by Salom, Rins or Vinales and all five lead riders in the points are on KTM-driven machines with Jonas Folger of Germany following Salom, Rins, Vinales and Marquez riding the Kalex-KTM.

Vinales, the only current Moto3 rider to have won in Sepang (in 2011) shot from ninth on the grid at the start and was a major player during the race only to lose out in the final corners. While 14 points now separate Salom and Rins, Vinales, a pre-season favorite for the title, now has a deficit of 26 points to the leader and only three races remaining to get back in the action.

Rins had much to gain as he went into the final corner. He fought hard and fast for what might have been his third consecutive victory this season and acknowledged that his teammare Alex Marquez had helped him during the race.“The race was so difficult. I was first in the last lap but finally he (Salom) passed me in the last corner.”

Had Rins finished in front of Salom he would have tied with the championship leader in the points as the competition goes down to the wire. The final three rounds will be in in Australia, Japan and Valencia.

It was a disappointing weekend for Salom’s KTM factory teammate and home-town favorite Zulfahmi Khairuddin, who last year thrilled his fans by taking his first podium here in Sepang. Fahmi fractured his wrist in the last round in Aragon, Spain and was initially declared fit to race. He rode in the qualifying but on race day he was declared unfit and was a non-starter. Arthur Sissis, the third rider in the Red Bull KTM Ajo factory team finished back in 19th place.

Moto3 riders reconvene next weekend in Phillip island, Australia for Round 15 of the 17-round season.


Moto3 GP of Malaysia
Round 14 (of 17)

Results
1, Luis Salom, Spain, KTM 40:42.441
2, Alex Rins, Spain, KTM 40:42.510
3, Miguel Oliviera, Portugal, Mahindra, 40:42.510
4, Alex Marquez, Spain, KTM 40:43.223
5, Maverick Vinales, Spain, KTM, 40:43.496
6, Jack Miller, Australia, Honda 40:43.518
7, Alexi Masbou Honda, France, 40:47.457
8, Jonas Folger, Germany, Kalex-KTM, 40:48.718
9, Romano Fenati, Italy, Honda 40:49.393
10, Philipp Oetl, Germany, Kalex-KTM, 40:53.403
Other KTM
12, Niklas Ajo, Finland, KTM, 41:03.453
13, Jakub Kornfeil, Czech Republic, Kalex-KTM 41:11.884
15, Anna Carasco, KTM, 41:14.020
18, Livio Loi, Belgium, Kalex-KTM 41:14.910
19, Arthur Sissis, Australia, KTM 41:17.250
DNF Erich Granado, Brazil, KTM
DNF Toni Finsterbusch, Germany, Kalex-KTM
DNF Jasper Iwema, Netherlands Kalex-KTM
DNF Malik, Malaysia KTM
DNF Asmi, Malaysia, KTM
DNS Zulfahmi Khairuddin, Malaysia KTM (declared unfit before race – fractured wrist in last round at Aragon)

Championship points (three rounds to go)
1, Salom 284
2, Rins, 270
3, Vinales 258
4, Marquez 162
5, Folger 137
6, Oliviera 131
10, Khairuddin 60
12, Sissis 59
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