Bizarre incident in Moto3 as driver continues race on wrong bike

Moto3 racer Ivan Ortola was involved in an embarrassing incident during the Moto3 Americas Grand Prix on Sunday in Austin, Texas, when he attempted to commandeer a bike that did not belong to him following a crash.

During the course, Ortola, 19, collided with one of his racing rivals, Stefano Nepa, causing both racers to dismount and come flying off their bikes. The two seemed unhurt by the incident - but Ortola may have been somewhat confused afterwards, as he ran towards and got on the wrong bike instead of his own.

In such an intense situation, an error such as this is understandable - especially for such a young competitor. Nevertheless, these mitigating factors did not spare Ortola from being mocked on social media.

Nepa seemed to take exception to Ortola’s honest mistake, as he immediately yanked his opponent off the bike and mounted it himself. Realising his error, Ortola then made a bee-line for his own bike - an MT Helmets MSi - and continued the 14-lap race as normal. Thankfully, Nepa managed to catch Ortola before he sped off - who knows what may have happened had he reached his bike a few seconds later?

Despite this, it may have had an effect on his overall performance. He went on to crash once again later on, failing to even finish the course. Nepa, meanwhile, finished the race in 18th position.

Perhaps most interestingly, Ortola had been a part of Nepa’s MTA Level Up Moto3 team last season - perhaps he had forgotten he had switched teams since then for a brief moment.

Ultimately, the grand prix was won by CF Moto Aspar’s David Alonso. However, the race will likely be remembered for the utterly bonkers incident between Ortola and Nepa - something that will surely live long in the memories of Moto3 and racing fans.