For the second time in a row, Jaume Masia has conquered Aragon to take victory in a stunning 19-lap battle in Alcaniz.

The Leopard rider was in the hunt from the off, battling hard in the 25 rider group. Albert Arenas got off the best but was squeezed out at turn two by Raul Fernandez and Celestino Vietti.

The race was a slow burner, in typical Moto3 fashion it was all about staying in the mix until the final few laps. After a poor Saturday performance, John McPhee knew he had strong race pace and fought his way inside the top eight but a huge moment at the final corner saw the Scotsman slip to 14th place at mid-race distance.

Meanwhile, riders were being hung out to dry left right and centre, Fernandez’s victory hopes were dashed after being forced wide at turn one, slipping to tenth.

As the Moto3 race entered its final lap, Arenas held a comfortable lead over the Leopard, however, with the Honda’s power advantage, the KTM’s lead was quickly eaten into down the 0.6-mile back straight. The championship leader slipped to fourth after being pushed wide twice by Ayumu Sasaki, who followed his countryman Kaito Toba through to third.

Masia hung on to take his second victory in a row and Honda’s 800th Grand Prix victory in all classes, while Kaito Toba took his second Moto3 podium finish of his career with Sasaki marking his maiden podium finish in third.

Arenas’ last-corner battle saw the Spaniard slip to fourth, marking another non-podium finish for the Spaniard, however, opened his lead over Ai Ogura to 19 points, who finished the Alcañiz Grand Prix in ninth place.

Celestino Vietti missed out on a podium finish but claimed fifth ahead of McPhee and Deniz Öncü, who leapt up to seventh in the closing stages. Darryn Binder made a great start to his race, fighting through the field, but once again, the South African lost touch with the leading group, eventually finishing in eighth, ahead of Ogura.

Tony Arbolino rounded out the top ten in his return to racing action, the Italian slips to fifth in the standings, 36 points adrift of Arenas.

Alonso Lopez finished 11th ahead of polesitter Raul Fernandez, Filip Salac and early front-runner Gabriel Rodrigo, with the final point going to Jeremy Alcoba.

Arenas limited the damage done in the title chase, extending his lead over Ai Ogura to 19 points while Vietti sits a further point behind in third.

Moto3 action will take a short break before resuming the fight in Valencia at the start of November for the final double-header before heading to Portimao for the season finale.

Featured image: MotoGP.com