Aspar Mahindra Team Bags Its First Moto3 Win

The only Indian team in MotoGP, Aspar Mahindra, has registered its first ever GP win in the Moto3 category, secured by the 19-year-old rider Francesco Bagnaia.

Nineteen-year-old Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia has bagged the first ever MotoGP win for himself as well as for the Aspar Mahindra Moto3 team at the Dutch Grand Prix. With the top three crossing the finish line within four-hundredths of a second, the Italian's triumph came after one of the fiercest races in the Moto3 class of the 2016 MotoGP Championship. Also, the top six came home inside two-tenths of a second.

Starting from the tenth position, Bagnaia put in his best throughout the race to touch the finish line first on his Aspar Mahindra racer and clinched victory after 99.924km of the fiercest fighting.

The overjoyed rider said, "I didn't believe it when I saw the chequered flag, but we knew that we were fast and strong this weekend. Every session we were fast, except qualifying where it was difficult to set a fast lap." He added, "In the first lap I overtook I think four or five riders, and in every lap, I wanted to stay in first position as I knew that the rain could arrive at any time, and it was really important to stay at the front of the group. In the last two corners I thought it was impossible to get first, but finally, I just did it, and it was incredible for me and for Mahindra."

The 2016 MotoGP has proven to be the best season till date for both Bagnaia and the Mahindra MGP3O racing motorcycle since they have already claimed the top three podium places, three times this year. The Indian auto giant, Mahindra, made its debut in MotoGP in 2011 with the 125cc category and won the Italian championship in 2012 using the same two-stroke motorcycle. With this win, Mahindra got a ticket to the Moto3 championship, which replaced AND SWITCHED FROM the 125cc category with TO the 250cc category in the same year. In 2013, the company came up with the all-new MGP30 and now it has become the first non-Japanese manufacturer from Asia to register a GP win.

Responding to the huge success, Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group, wrote on social media: “How do I explain my emotions? Sorry for being a wimp, but I am moved to tears. Triumph over so many hurdles and scepticism.”

With this first victory of his career in MotoGP, Bagnaia has moved to the fourth position and is just four points away from the third slot. This means that he has a good chance to bolster his position in the next race, which is the German GP at the Sachsenring.