In first night Grand PrixSergio Gadea became the first ever winner of a night time Grand Prix with victory in the 125cc class, beating Joan Olive and Stefan Bradl in an exciting season opener.
The Bancaja Aspar rider overcame the pain of a shoulder injury to take
a memorable triumph in his 70th race in the category.
The race was a breathtaking affair, with the possibility of victory for any number of riders. The final laps saw retirements for Onde 2000 KTM's Raffaele de Rosa and reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi; the former colliding with Olive whilst the latter was forced to pull over with a mechanical problem.
Gadea and Olive having comfortably taking their podium places with late pushes to extend their respective advantages, the battle for the final rostrum spot became a hotly contested affair with a surprise winner. Grizzly Gas Kiefer rider Bradl pickpocketed Ajo Motorsport's Mike di Meglio and Blusens Aprilia debutant Scott Redding as they tussled on the home straight, taking his first top three finish.
DeGraaf Grand Prix rider Danny Webb joined British compatriot Redding in the top six, ahead of Simone Corsi, Pol Espargaro, Efren Vazquez and Nico Terol.
Contrasting with the fortunes of Gadea, who could surely not have expected a win from the second row of the grid after a weekend of crashes and treatment, Polaris World poleman Bradley Smith suffered a repeat of the cruel misfortune suffered by the Aprilia team last year with former charge Mattia Pasini.
After heading the practice and qualifying timesheets, Smith experienced a mechanical problem in the morning warmup that recurred on the second lap of the 125cc showdown when he was leading the race.
Further retirements came for Robert Muresan, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Dino Lombardi."
DORNA / CAPSIS International
