DANNY KENT took another step towards securing the Moto3 world championship when he earned another podium place at the legendary Assen circuit in the Netherlands to extend his championship lead to a massive 57 points.

In a battle which saw seven riders fight out an epic race for the top step on the podium, the 21-year-old from Tetbury was able to keep a cool head and ride yet another mature race.

The lead swapped hands at almost every corner, as the riders in the leading group put move after move on each other, but it was Miguel Oliveira who timed his charge to perfection to snatch the lead just before the final chicane and hold on across the line ahead of 16-year-old Frenchman Fabio Quartararo with Kent (Leopard Racing Honda) beaten little more than a tenth of a second.

Coming into the final lap in sixth the championship leader was able to move up into third position following some stunning moves and more importantly finish ahead of his main series rival, Italian Enea Bastianini (sixth).

Kent was thrilled with another podium, saying: “Wow, what a race! I’m really happy to extend our lead in the championship.

"I struggled a bit with speed, even when in the slipstream. Due to the more windy conditions it was hard to head the group it wasn’t easy to stay calm. But to be honest, when you’re racing in a group of up to seven riders you can’t really think about anything else as there were countless battles for positions.

"I pushed really hard in the final lap, but I was a bit early on the brakes into the last corner. We can be happy overall because we finished ahead of Bastianini, who is our main contender in the championship.”