Ivan Ortola has surged into the 2023 Moto3 World Championship title fight with a superb last gasp pass for victory over David Alonso in the Spanish Moto3 at Jerez.

Coming into the European summer leg of the season on a high after securing a stunning victory in the United States despite a mistake on lap one, though Ortola was always in the mix at the front of the field, he had to work just as hard to claim the spoils.

With the slender Andalucian venue throwing up its usual high-octane tussling in the front group, no rider was able to break away from a lead group of eight, meaning victory would likely come down to timing the attack just right.

Indeed, Jaume Masia was the rider who shook out attempting to win from the front as he led the close following Alonso and Ortola into the final lap.

It was an advantage he held half-way around the final lap, but after fending off a late-braking attempt by Alonso into Dani Pedrosa Corner, the Colombian rookie slithered up the inside at Turn 7, bringing an opportunistic Ortola with him.

With Masia preoccupied with the attentions of Ayumu Sasaki to attempt a retort, the fight for victory came down to Alonso and Ortola.

However, when a clearly cautious Alonso ran slightly wide through Turn 9, it opened the door for Ortola to dive through into Turn 10 and hold his form into the final turns.

Back-to-back wins for the Angeluss MTA rider, it launches him up to third position in the overall standings behind Daniel Holgado and Diogo Moreira, who enjoyed indifferent races in sixth and tenth respectively. 

With Holgado still leading the way, he holds a four point margin over Moreira, with Ortola nine points off the lead.

Behind Ortola, Alonso was still an impressive second in only his sixth Moto3 start on the GasGas, the Colombian shadowing his rival across the line for his first podium.

Masia held off Sasaki to complete the podium and maintain his title credentials despite not tasting victory this season, the Leopard Racing rider 12 points off the top spot.

Sasaki got a much needed finish on the board in fourth place aboard the Husqvarna IntactGP, while Jose Antonio Rueda demonstrated his own impressive credentials in the busy lead pack to salvage fifth place at the flag.

He finished ahead of Holgado, who fought up inside the top three for much of the race before Masia’s move saw him bullied down the order in the final stages, leaving him sixth, with Xavier Artigas in seventh on the CFMoto bike..

Pole sitter Deniz Oncu was eighth across the line, but copped a post-race penalty for track limit infringements, dropping him to ninth behind Tatsuki Suzuki. The Turkish rider had been the dominant force throughout the weekend on the Red Bull KTM Ajo having emerged well clear of his rivals over a single lap in Practice and Qualifying, but Oncu - with his larger frame - was more vulnerable in the slipstreaming pack and couldn’t make an impression on the front runners.

Finishing well back on the lead pack, Moreira eventually fought his way the front of the chasing group to pick up a handful of points for tenth, ahead of Romano Fenati, British rider Scott Ogden, Matteo Bertelle and Filippo Fairoli.

The injured Stefano Nepa, meanwhile, picked up the 15th and final point on the second of the Angeluss MTA bikes.

CLICK HERE to view 2023 Spanish Moto3 Practice, Qualifying and Race Results from Jerez

Spanish Moto3 | RACE Results

Jerez | Conditions - Dry, Hot