Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Resuls Below:
Niccolo Antonelli grabbed lead at the start of the race at the Motegi circuit in Japan and never let go to take the win Sunday in wet conditions.
Antonelli, who dominated practice, finished the race a second clear of Miguel Oliveira with Jorge Navarro in third. Championship leader Danny Kent finished sixth and didn’t clinch the title.
Isaac Vinales crashed in the second-to-last lap but still managed to finish fourth after remounting. Two seconds behind, Zulfahmi Khairruddin took a surprising fifth, just in front of championship leader Kent. Enea Bastianini, Kent's main (and sole mathematical) rival, ended his contest in seventh.
Karel Hanika, John McPhee and Efren Vazquez rounded out the top ten.
Result:
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time / Diff. |
| 1 | 23 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | Honda | 28'03.391 |
| 2 | 44 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 1.053 |
| 3 | 9 | Jorge NAVARRO | Honda | 8.529 |
| 4 | 32 | Isaac VIÑALES | KTM | 11.074 |
| 5 | 63 | Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN | KTM | 13.043 |
| 6 | 52 | Danny KENT | Honda | 15.224 |
| 7 | 33 | Enea BASTIANINI | Honda | 15.873 |
| 8 | 98 | Karel HANIKA | KTM | 17.563 |
| 9 | 17 | John MCPHEE | Honda | 18.153 |
| 10 | 7 | Efren VAZQUEZ | Honda | 18.556 |
| 11 | 88 | Jorge MARTIN | Mahindra | 19.896 |
| 12 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL | KTM | 20.892 |
| 13 | 24 | Tatsuki SUZUKI | Mahindra | 25.145 |
| 14 | 55 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Honda | 28.455 |
| 15 | 21 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Mahindra | 28.849 |
| 16 | 91 | Gabriel RODRIGO | KTM | 29.988 |
| 17 | 41 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 30.719 |
| 18 | 29 | Stefano MANZI | Mahindra | 31.949 |
| 19 | 95 | Jules DANILO | Honda | 32.146 |
| 20 | 16 | Andrea MIGNO | KTM | 35.048 |
| 21 | 58 | Juanfran GUEVARA | Mahindra | 47.242 |
| 22 | 96 | Manuel PAGLIANI | Mahindra | 48.796 |
| 23 | 65 | Philipp OETTL | KTM | 49.372 |
| 24 | 48 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Husqvarna | 56.86 |
| 25 | 27 | Keisuke KURIHARA | Honda | 59.731 |
| 26 | 6 | Maria HERRERA | Husqvarna | +1'07.035 |
| 27 | 40 | Darryn BINDER | Mahindra | +1'19.621 |
| 28 | 5 | Romano FENATI | KTM | +1'29.664 |
| 29 | 22 | Ana CARRASCO | KTM | +1'52.305 |
Comments
Mathematical rivals
Oliveira's only 65 points behind.
He *could* still win it.
Oliveira under the radar?
Oliveira is giving a very respectful final sprint, closing in on Bastianini for 2nd (only 9 points away) and, as you wrote, still has a mathematical chance at the championship. But he goes somewhat unnoticed in the media (I would say motomatters included). Luckily Leopard Racing is paying attention and he is on his way to Moto2 with Danny Kent. Go Miguel!!!
Kent
Seems to have really gone off the boil in the last few rounds