Lorenzo Dalla Porta

DALLA PORTA DOES IT IN STYLE

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) became the first former FIM Moto3 Junior World Champion to progress to a senior title when he claimed the 2019 FIM Moto3 World Championship with two rounds to spare. The Italian confirmed the immense promise he had shown in 2016 with a season of remarkable consistency in the notoriously unpredictable Moto3 class, scoring points in all but one race before sealing the title in style with back-to-back wins in Japan and Australia.

Dalla Porta made the step up to world level on a full-time basis in 2017, enduring a tough rookie season on a Mahindra, although doing enough to attract the attention of Leopard Racing, who signed him for the following season and enjoyed immediate success with a podium in the opening round of 2018 in Qatar. A first win at Misano and a bunch more podiums resulted in a top five finish overall, providing the platform for a title challenge in 2019.

Again, the season began with a podium finish at Losail, but Dalla Porta had to wait until the mid-point of the season before a first win came at Sachsenring. Another two podiums at Brno and Silverstone saw him exchange the points lead with main rival Aron Canet (KTM) as the two pulled clear at the top of the standings, but when the ‘flyaway’ races came around, Dalla Porta stepped up. Second place in Thailand was followed by those wins at Motegi and Phillip Island, and with Spain’s Canet out of the points on all three occasions the lightweight title went to Italy for the first time since Andrea Dovizioso was crowned FIM 125cc World Champion back in 2004. 

Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Husqvarna) was proclaimed FIM Moto3™ Junior World Champion after a dramatic final day of the season at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo in Spain. The Italian took a fourteen-point lead over Marcos Ramírez (KTM) into the last two races of the campaign, thanks largely to a mid-season run of form that included three straight wins at Barcelona-Catalunya and Albacete. Ramírez had slashed the points difference with a pair of wins and a second place at Portimao and Jerez, setting up a tense title decider in Valencia.  

The drama began just moments before the start of the first race, when Dalla Porta's machine caught fire on the grid. Amazingly, his bike was judged race-worthy for the restart and he came from pit-lane through the 44-rider field to pick up three points in twelfth. Meanwhile Ramírez took his fifth win of the season and moved to the top of the championship by nine points with one race to go. However, the Spaniard's luck would turn around in race two, a crash on lap twelve handing the initiative to Dalla Porta, who took a safe second behind team-mate Raul Fernández (Husqvarna) to clinch the title. Fernández's first win, combined with second place in race one, proved enough to overhaul Japanese talent Kaito Toba (Honda) for third place.