Johann Zarco went in to the race with a 20 point deficit on Championship leader Nico Terol, which meant that Zarco basically had to win, whilst hoping that Terol experienced difficulties during the race.

As it turned out, it was was Zarco that had the issues. After a good start, Zarco crashed out early, basically handing the Championship to Terol. Zarco tried to get his bike back up, but it was full of dirt and gravel. Race over.

Terol worked his way steadily to the front end of the grid, and the race developed into a battle between Nico Terol, Maverick Vinales, Sandro Cortese, and Hector Faubel.

It was Maverick Vinales who came out on top – he eventually managed to pull out a lead of a few seconds to take victory and become the last ever 125 GP winner.

Pole sitter Danny Webb managed to lead the first lap, but he was soon surrounded by the rest of the riders and by lap 10 he had slipped back to 10th place. His race would get worse, and Webb crashed out with 12 laps to go.

125cc Race Results from Valencia:

1 Maverick VIÑALES Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing 41’44.138
2 Nicolas TEROL Bankia Aspar Team 125cc 3.216
3 Hector FAUBEL Bankia Aspar Team 125cc 7.46
4 Efren VAZQUEZ Avant-AirAsia-Ajo 14.56
5 Jonas FOLGER Red Bull Ajo MotorSport 18.451
6 Alberto MONCAYO Andalucia Banca Civica 36.472
7 Luis SALOM RW Racing GP 52.614
8 Niklas AJO TT Motion Events Racing +1’00.138
9 Luigi MORCIANO Team Italia FMI +1’00.253
10 Louis ROSSI Matteoni Racing +1’03.258
11 Manuel TATASCIORE Phonica Racing +1’09.892
12 Marcel SCHROTTER Mahindra Racing +1’12.741
13 Alessandro TONUCCI Team Italia FMI +1’18.337
14 John McPHEE Racing Steps Foundation KRP +1’18.434
15 Giulian PEDONE Phonica Racing +1’20.580
16 Sturla FAGERHAUG WTR-Ten10 Racing +1’21.155
17 Danny KENT Red Bull Ajo MotorSport +1’27.770
18 Peter SEBESTYEN Matteoni Racing +1’33.406
19 Daniel RUIZ Larresport +1’34.593
20 Jasper IWEMA Ongetta-Abbink Metaal +1’34.832
21 Marco COLANDREA WTR-Ten10 Racing 1 Lap
22 Alexis MASBOU Caretta Technology 1 Lap
23 Kevin HANUS Team Hanusch 1 Lap
24 Jakub KORNFEIL Ongetta-Centro Seta 1 Lap
25 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN Airasia-Sic-Ajo 3 Laps
Adrian MARTIN Bankia Aspar Team 125cc +2’16.952

Not Classified

Taylor MACKENZIE Phonica Racing 6 Laps
Brad BINDER Andalucia Banca Civica 7 Laps
Josep RODRIGUEZ Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing 9 Laps
Sandro CORTESE Intact-Racing Team Germany 13 Laps
Danny WEBB Mahindra Racing 13 Laps
Harry STAFFORD Ongetta-Centro Seta 17 Laps
Jack MILLER Caretta Technology 21 Laps
Johann ZARCO Avant-AirAsia-Ajo 22 Laps

Starting from pole, Terol got a solid start and managed to stretch his lead to a few bike lengths within the first few corners.

Terol set continuous fast laps, and by the halfway point he was so far out in front that his 11 second lead made it look like he was on an American Roadtrip with no other traffic visible on the road behind him.

The action was left to Zarco, Vinales, Gadea, and Cortese, who all battled hard for second place.

Johann Zarco and Maverick Vinales fought hard for supremacy on the track, and just as the battle was really heating up Zarco almost came off track at the last corner coming on to the long Indy straight. Maverick Vinales made the most of the incident and pulled ahead into a comfortable second place, however his gap didn’t last long as Sandro Cortese closed him down and passed him with 4 laps to go. Both riders exchanged positions in the last few laps, but it was Vinales that claimed second and Cortese had to make do with third.

Meanwhile, Zarco put on a solid comeback to take 5th place by beating his team-mate by a fraction of a second as they both appeared to cross the finish line side by side.

125cc Race Results from Indianapolis:

1 Nicolas TEROL Bankia Aspar Team 125cc 42’11.978
2 Maverick VIÑALES Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing 3.633
3 Sandro CORTESE Intact-Racing Team Germany 3.737
4 Sergio GADEA Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing 4.227
5 Johann ZARCO Avant-AirAsia-Ajo 14.186
6 Efren VAZQUEZ Avant-AirAsia-Ajo 14.2
7 Hector FAUBEL Bankia Aspar Team 125cc 18.477
8 Miguel OLIVEIRA Andalucia Banca Civica 23.992
9 Jonas FOLGER Red Bull Ajo MotorSport 24.239
10 Jakub KORNFEIL Ongetta-Centro Seta 38.748
11 Simone GROTZKYJ Phonica Racing 39.194
12 Louis ROSSI Matteoni Racing 40.203
13 Danny KENT Red Bull Ajo MotorSport 44.088
14 Alexis MASBOU Caretta Technology 45.201
15 Luigi MORCIANO Team Italia FMI 46.037
16 Jasper IWEMA Ongetta-Abbink Metaal 58.451
17 Brad BINDER RW Racing GP +1’12.015
18 Francesco MAURIELLO WTR-Ten10 Racing +1’12.898
19 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN Airasia-Sic-Ajo +1’14.294
20 Joan PERELLO Matteoni Racing +1’23.947
21 Taylor MACKENZIE Phonica Racing +1’29.369
22 Peter SEBESTYEN Caretta Technology +1’29.813
23 Alessandro TONUCCI Team Italia FMI +1’34.296
24 Giulian PEDONE Phonica Racing 2 Laps

Not Classified
Marcel SCHROTTER Mahindra Racing 1 Lap
Adrian MARTIN Bankia Aspar Team 125cc 3 Laps
Sturla FAGERHAUG WTR-Ten10 Racing 12 Laps
Niklas AJO TT Motion Events Racing 16 Laps
Harry STAFFORD Ongetta-Centro Seta 16 Laps

Nico Terol:
“I am really motivated about Jerez and to arrive there as series leader is an extra boost. I am sure we are going to have a great weekend along with the fans. It has been a very long winter but all the hard work was worth it as we saw in Qatar. I scored my first ever Grand Prix podium at Jerez so I have great memories of that. It is a demanding circuit with a bit of everything and you have to push in every corner to get a good set-up. I feel I’m in incredible shape and my objective is to fight for the victory again even though I know it won’t be easy. It will be a tough race and there are a lot of guys out to win it, especially the Spanish riders. The team is working exceptionally well but we can’t take our eye off the ball because every weekend is huge.”

Héctor Faubel:
“I can’t wait to get to Jerez. At the last test we finished fastest and that makes me excited for the weekend ahead. If we do things the right way we can be setting the pace again and that is the target to get rid of the bad taste in our mouths from Qatar. The racing is always special at Jerez, the fans really get behind us all weekend and that gives you a lot of strength. Jerez is a circuit where I have always been able to ride fast but my best result is a third place so I want to improve on that and fight for the win.”

Adrián Martín:
“My objective next weekend is to be fighting in the top ten. I know Jerez quite well, which is important for us to be performing at our best and as near to the front as possible. We tested at Jerez not long ago so all the work we did back then should be useful and help us to find our references. We have a good set-up from the test. The key will be the fast corners.”

Nico Terol:
“As I keep saying I feel like I’m in really good shape this year so I can’t wait to get to Silverstone. It is a new track for everybody so this week I’ve been playing the F1 game on the Playstation just to get to know it a little. I think they have changed a couple of corners but a lot of the old circuit remains. It is a fast track with a lot of corners linked together, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy riding it. I always look forward to the faster tracks and I hope I can keep my form going there on Sunday. We had a great race in the end at Mugello so I hope to repeat that result at least, or even fight for the win. I am only thinking about winning at the moment and I can’t wait for my next chance this Sunday.”

Bradley Smith:
“This is a very exciting week for me because my home Grand Prix is coming up. Silverstone is very close to my house and it means a lot to me to be racing in front of my family and friends. It is going to be a fantastic weekend and I’m sure I’ll get a lot of support from the British fans. Silverstone is a new circuit for all of us – it looks like it will be fast so we need to work on the engine and make sure we have the top speed to compete. It is usually windy here too, so we will need to take that into account. I’m excited – I can’t wait to get there now and get to know the track properly. Over the first four races we have gradually clawed our way to the front and now we have the material and the motivation to fight for the win on Sunday.”

Check out the extended Bradley Smith interview on the British GP for more.

12th Bradley Smith 2.09.945 (16 laps):
“I’m exhausted, the first session is always so exciting. To be honest my mechanics had more work to do today than we would have liked but we had some issues with my carburettor. We don’t know what caused it but we do know what we have to do to fix it, which is more important. As far as chassis is concerned the Aprilia is working perfectly – I feel like I can really lean it over everywhere. So I’m not stressed about it, I know that tomorrow once the bike is running faster we can get in the positions where we belong. I’m not far off as it is and I was able to follow a few guys through most of the corners anyway.”

There’s plenty of talent in the 125cc Class who will be hoping to frustrate Smith’s efforts to become World Champion with Smith’s team mate Nico Terol being one of them.

Nico Terol:
“I’m really happy with preseason. We have made progress with every test and even though the weather hasn’t always been on our side we were lucky to benefit from ideal conditions in the last session at Jerez. My progression has been positive and I think we go to Qatar in strong shape, feeling comfortable. There are some really tough rivals in this class, as there are every year, but I have a lot of confidence – especially in terms of technical backing – and I know we’re ready to fight with the best. I love the feeling of racing at night. Losail is a circuit with every kind of corner – it is tough but I like that because it makes you work. The objective now is to prepare the bike as best we can in the time available and try to win the race!”

Bradley Smith:
“I really can’t wait to get out to Qatar, to feel the pressure of a Grand Prix again and to be in the middle of the real action. Obviously you have less time to work at a GP than you do during a test so we will have to be very focused. Preseason has gone really well so I am calm and confident that we can do a good job. I think I have the necessary experience to handle whatever is thrown at us. As I said testing went well and even though you could always do with a bit extra I am keen to begin the fight for points. The first race is always special because it is when you really get to see what everybody has got and how well you have done your job over the winter. I love Losail as a circuit – I just hope that we don’t have a repeat of last year’s weather and that I can be fighting for the win.”