Aspar Team Gaviota's Stefano Nepa clinched a debut Moto3™ victory in emphatic style by taking a lights-to-flag victory at the Michelin Virtual British Grand Prix. The Italian was a class above the rest throughout the day, earlier taking pole position by an extremely handsome margin, and was unmatched in the six-lap race eventually taking the chequered flag nearly ten seconds clear of Jeremy Alcoba (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3) and Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3).
In a frantic opening lap, CarXpert PruestelGP's Barry Baltus and Alcoba swapped paint on a regular basis whilst fighting for second place. Behind, British hopeful John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) saw his home hopes scuppered after a coming together with Red Bull KTM Ajo's Kaito Toba. Despite Batlus and Alcoba's antics, the pair were able to escape from the clutches of those behind and looked like taking the final two podium spots. That was until Baltus clipped the rear-end of Alcoba and crashed out of third place on lap three.
It allowed Sasaki to swoop through into third place with three laps left. No further mistakes were made at the front, meaning Nepa took the chequered flag ahead of Alcoba and Sasaki with Scotland's McPhee recovering from his earlier crash to take fourth place. Honda Team Asia's Yuki Kunii beat his compatriot Toba on the final lap to clinch the final top five spot, before Baltus and Max Kofler (CIP Green Power) came across the line in seventh and eighth respectively. The final two to finish were Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Racing) and Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing).
