Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) wins the battle at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand after an incredible ride for the #44 in testing conditions. Canet took the lead in the opening laps, maintaining his advantage in the latter stages as the red flag was shown due to weather conditions. Canet won by 2.523s from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI), who crossed the line in second, which proved to be good enough to be crowned the 2024 Moto2™ World Champion. It was a hard-fought race for the #79, creating history by becoming the first Asia Talent Cup rider to become Grand Prix World Champion. Ogura crossed the line to beat Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) in P3.
Ogura secured a dream holeshot at Turn 1 before Canet attacked early, carving his way into the lead at Turn 3. The #79 did not take long to respond, with Ogura and Canet trading blows throughout the opening lap. However, everything got close at the final corner, with firm moves being made at the final corner – forcing Ogura to run wide and drop to P7.
It was a tough opening lap for Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp), bringing an end to any hopes of a strong result in Thailand. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) was involved in the incident, with his race also ending at Turn 5.
Ogura chipped away, entering sixth after Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) ran wide at Turn 5, dropping the #21 outside the top 10. The #79 had to finish inside the top five spots to wrap up the Championship in Thailand as Canet continued to lead. The key move came on Lap 7, with the Japanese star finding a way through on Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP’s Darryn Binder.
At the front, Canet extended his margin to three-tenths from Ramirez, who made an incredible start from fourth on the grid. Meanwhile, the battle for P3 ignited, with Ogura passing Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and beginning to pile the pressure on Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team).
Ogura created an opportunity on Lap 10, clawing his way into the podium places, with sights set on winning the World Championship. Four laps later, the next move arrived for Ogura, stealing second from Ramirez and setting sights on the one-second gap to Canet.
There were spots of rain in the air, adding to the drama at Buriram as Canet maintained his advantage. Further back, home hero Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) began to make moves, charging into the top five before starting to duel with Moreira for fourth.
Everything soon changed as the red flag was shown, bringing an early end to proceeding as the rain got heavier, allowing Canet to secure the win, while Ogura became the first Japanese rider to claim the World Champion since 2009, and Ramirez celebrated a well-earned podium on Sunday.
Chantra took a popular P4 finish, finding incredible pace in the latter stages to the delight of the home crowd. The #35 impressed, beating Moreira, who claimed the final spot inside the top five. Meanwhile, Izan Guevara completed a strong day, bagging sixth place for the CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team and beating teammate Dixon, who took the flag ahead of Albert Arenas (Gresini Moto2™) on a historic day at the Chang International Circuit.
Meanwhile, Round 16 winner Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2™) and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Deniz Öncü took the final spots inside the top 10, with Lopez missing out in P11. Sergio Garcia was 12th in a great day for MT Helmets – MSI as Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team’s Ayumu Sasaki took 13th, Filip Salac (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) claimed 14th and Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team) bagged the final point.
