Gran Premio Movistar de Aragon
FIM Moto2 World Championship
Motorland Aragon, Alcaniz, Spain
September 25, 2016
Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Sam LOWES, UK (KALEX), 21 Laps, Total Race Time 40:00.885
2. Alex MARQUEZ, Spain (KALEX), -3.289 seconds
3. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), -3.321
4. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (KALEX), -5.181
5. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), -10.722
6. Alex RINS,Spain (KALEX), -12.164
7. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (KALEX), -12.385
8. Johann ZARCO, France (KALEX), -12.612
9. Simone CORSI, Italy (SPEED UP), -14.004
10. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), -18.164
11. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SPEED UP), -22.413
12. Mattia PASINI, Italy (KALEX), -22.671
13. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), -22.909
14. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), -23.437
15. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (Kalex), -25.293
16. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), -25.828
17. Xavi VIERGE, Spain (TECH 3), -26.404
18. Steven ODENDAAL, South Africa (KALEX), -25.525
19. Remy GARDNER, Australia (KALEX), -30.341
20. Jesko RAFFIN, Switzerland (KALEX), -30.438
World Championship Point Standings (after 14 of 18 races):
1. Zarco, 202 points
2. Rins, 201
3. Lowes, 162
4. Luthi, 154
5. Morbidelli, 141
6. Nakagami, 135
7. Folger, 133
8. Syahrin, 103
9. Baldassarri, 99
10. Corsi, 74
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Brit unstoppable as Marquez duels Morbidelli for first podium
Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) took a stunning win at MotorLand Aragon, as the Brit converted pole position into a dominant Sunday performance. Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Alex Marquez put in a superb ride to take his first ever podium at his home track in P2, with teammate Franco Morbidelli taking second from the Spaniard on the final lap – only to be taken straight back.
Marquez took the lead from second on the grid at MotorLand Aragon, as the 2014 Moto3™ world champion took off where he left off in FP3 and qualifying – at the front. Sunday dawned overcast and cooler, with air temperatures hovering in the early twenties but no threat of rain, and the field streamed through Turn 1 with Lowes and Marquez leading the way. Lowes shadowed the rider from Cervera before taking back the lead – and then disappeared at the front in a controlled and dominant showing of scintillating race pace to bounce back from disappointment in Misano. The Brit was over three seconds clear by the flag, gaining a good margin of points to those near him in the title fight.
Franco Morbidelli fought his way past Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) to hone in on Garage Plus Interwetten’s Tom Luthi, as the Italian-Brazilian lit up the timesheet to pass the Swiss veteran and then set his sights on teammate Marquez – catching him but unable to make it stick, with the EG0,0 Marc VDS garage suffering some late race stress as the teammates dueled it out around the final corner. Morbidelli was also fastest in Warm Up on Sunday morning and shot through the field after a slightly more difficult qualifying.
Luthi completed the top five in front of Nakagami, with the two having more lonely rides to the line as battle raged behind, with Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) emerging top from a four way fight with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Racing), Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) and Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing). Zarco, who was down in tenth at one point, had a tough race in Aragon but just retains the lead in the title – with the gap now cut to an incredible, single point. The Frenchman has seen Rins rolling with some serious momentum of late, and also had a tough race at MotorLand in 2015 – when on the verge of the title. Jonas Folger (Dynavolt Intact GP) completed the top ten behind Corsi after a more difficult weekend for the German, with the upper echelons of the Moto2™ title fight shuffling every weekend.
Next stop: Japan, with one single point the difference at the top.