Faubel Honda's top finisher in the last Moto3 race of the year

Hector Faubel (JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda) was Honda’s top finisher in the last Moto3 race of the year, the Spaniard in the thick of the action in the lead group throughout. At the finish line the Spaniard was fifth, less than four seconds behind the winner.

The race was run on a wet track, with many riders falling victim to the slippery conditions. Several in the lead group slid off, leaving Danny Kent to take the win from KTM team-mate and recently crowned World Champion Sandro Cortese at the final corner.

Faubel was not the only Honda rider running up front. Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany – FTR Honda) briefly led the race during the early stages, but the winner of May’s wet French GP then slipped back a few positions to complete the 24 laps in sixth place, comfortably ahead of Jakub Kornfeil (Thomas Sabo GP Team – Honda).

Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda) had a difficult end to his 2012 season, finishing eighth which puts him a close third in the final World Championship standings. After Cortese, Vinales has the second largest victory haul of the year, with five wins.

Faubel’s team-mate Efren Vazquez (JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda) was one of the front-runners who fell during the race, taking Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0.0 – Suter Honda) with him at two-thirds distance. The pair had been running third and second when they fell.

Moto3 Rider Quotes

Hector Faubel, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse: 5th

“It was a beautiful race – special and fun. Initially it was difficult because I was far behind. But then I started passing slower riders. It was a shame not to be on the podium, but I gave everything I could to get there. Now I want to thank Pedro Machado and my sponsors for giving me this opportunity.”

Louis Rossi, Racing Team Germany: 6th

“The race was good, except for my mistake. I downshifted to first going into turn one after a few laps and ran off the track. I’m sad because without that I would have been able to fight for the podium. Anyway, we were strong, we led the race, we had a good pace and we got some points. Now it feels a bit strange to leave this team and begin my career in Moto2 – my thanks to the team for all they’ve done this year.”

Jakub Kornfeil, Thomas Sabo GP Team: 7th

“I still have big problems in the early stages. I always lose so much in the beginning and it takes a while to get into the racing rhythm. We tried to use a harder tyre because we knew it would work later on. It was quite difficult to move up from 18th place. In the beginning I was fighting with Popov and he was really hard to beat. Then my feeling with the bike improved so I closed the gap to Salom, Vinales and Ajo. I was able to overtake both of them. In another lap, I also passed Ajo. I knew Faubel was in the front and if I did not score some decent points, I would be relegated to 16th in the standings, But I was comfortably seventh and Faubel made a mistake that cost him a podium finish. This weekend had not been going well, so seventh place is a perfect way to end the season.”