Sky VR46 rider Andrea Migno clinched his maiden grand prix victory by just 0.037 seconds from Fabio Di Giannantonio, after a thrilling Moto3 Italian Grand Prix from Mugello.
As is the case at Mugello, the race was a frantic slipstream affair, the lead changing hands almost every lap as the 22-strong lead pack hurtled towards the first corner.
When the lights went out, it was Di Giannantonio who took the holeshot from third on the grid, while Gresini team-mate Jorge Martin recovered from 13th spot after a 12-place grid drop stripped him of pole to end the opening lap sixth.
As the race wore on, the likes of Di Giannantonio, Martin, Romano Fenati, Migno, Darryn Binder, Marcos Ramirez, Joan Mir and Philipp Oettl all took turns leading the field, but as the riders crossed the line to start the final lap it was Migno who held sway.
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The Italian was hounded by compatriot Di Giannantonio across the final lap, and the pair were given some breathing space when Juanfran Guevara and Binder debated third through the fast downhill left of Turn 7.
As they exited the final corner, Migno was still in front and managed to just keep Di Giannantonio at bay to claim his career first win and the first KTM podium of 2017. RBA Racing’s Guevara was able to break away from Binder slightly to secure his debut podium finish.
Aron Canet, who remained largely anonymous until the final handful of laps crossed the line just 0.002s behind Binder for fifth, with pole man John McPhee heading championship leader Joan Mir in sixth spot, who remains 34 points clear after Sunday’s race.
Ayumu Sasaki tallied up the best result of his rookie season so far with an impressive eighth, the Japanese rider leading Ramirez and Nicolo Bulega across the line to complete the top 10. Enea Bastianini, Bo Bendsneyder, Fenati, Oettl and Martin were the last of the points scorers.
