Last year's Silverstone race was very wet. Not the case this year. Scott Redding and Bradley Smith will be the two Brits in the race. A Brit has not won this division since it was the 250cc series way back in 1976. The track is dry, but, rain showers can come quickly. They're racing in England, so that makes a lot of sense. The race for Moto 2 will be 18 laps. Pol Espargaro is on his first Moto 2 pole.
At the start, Brad Smith gets away well and takes the lead as Andrea Ianonni, Pol Espargaro and Scott Redding all file through. Redding is now second going on to the Wellington straight. Two Brits lead, and the fans will go crazy! Redding passes for the lead, forcing Smith into second. Into Woodcote onto the back straight. Pol Espargaro is fourth. Gino Rea has had a good start, too. Espargaro and Smuth battle. Through Vale, these guys are really going for it. This race is 19 laps. Marc Marques and Tom Luthi are also lurking in the back half of the top ten. Claudio Corti takes sixth from Tom Luthi. This is fifth and sxith. Now, Redding continues to lead and the battle continues between Smith and Espargaro. Johann Zarco pits for a second time. He's not having a good race.
Into the Maggots/Becketts/Chapel section, the battle continues. Johann Zarco crashed. Redding, Smith and Espargaro keep battling and Redding has taken the advantage. He can open a gap up. Simone Corsi passes Claudio Corti. Brad Smith is hounded by Corti. The bikes fly down Hangar straight towards Stowe. Espargro respects Marc Marques even though they've had some really hard battles over the last couple years. Andrea Ianonni runs wide as Smith and Corsi pull away. Tom Luthi is ninth behind Alex de Angelis.
Bradley Smith is going well. He's got a MotoGP contract with Yamaha, supposedly. Ianonni is trying to race Espargaro. Scott Redding ran a 2:07.9 which is his personal best lap. Down to Stowe, Espargaro closes on Redding but cannot get by. Marc Marques had a big crash in qualifying on Saturday through Woodcote. But, he's racing well today. Simone Corsi is really going after Ianonne. Espargaro closes on Redding. The race is not quite at half distance. Andrea Ianonni sets fast lap at 2:07.1. Tito Rebat and Toni Elias are running further down the order and they have to do testing for their bikes in the race which is not a good situation to be in.
Pol Espargaro gets closer to Redding. Can he pass Redding on Hangar straight. Yes, he can. Espargaro holds on through Vale. Andrea Ianonne successfully passes Scott Redding. Espargaro might fly now. Nine laps to go. Espargaro is dropping, but Simone Corsi sets his personal best lap. Corsi has nothing to lose. Marc Marques tries to pass Scott Redding into Stowe corner. Espargaro is ahead as he resets fast lap at 2:07.69. The bikes go down Wellington straight and into Brooklands which is named after a banked track that still exists but isn't raced on.
The tires are going away, but, it seems like the lead riders are not having to worry about degradation. Espargaro is pushing and Marc Marques passes Andrea Ianonne. Can someone take the charge to Pol Espargaro? Tom Luthi languishes and might lose his championship lead after this race. Redding has passed Ianonne. The weather could change before the end of this race. Redding passes for third into The Loop.
Redding is pushing Marques hard. Dark clouds are looming with seven laps left. Espargaro has a 1.3 second gap over Marques. The race is 2/3 over. Scott Redding has indeed passed for second, past Marques. Espargaro still leads as Corsi passes Iannone for fourth place. So, Andrea Ianonne's tires are fading. Redding sets fast lap at a 2:07.6! Wow! Five laps to go. Pol Espargaro is gapping the others, but Marques and Redding aren't finished yet. Redding is using everything he can into Brooklands corner. Bradley Smith will finish sixth.
Redding passes Marques into Stowe. If Marc Marques gets a podium, he'll take over the points lead as Luthi is having a bad race. Four laps to go. The battle is between Redding and Marques. Pol Espargaro will likely win after crashing in Barcelona, in tears after the race. Pol Espargaro has had a great race and Redding may get pass Marques. Not sure. Scott Redding wanted to save his tires and he did. Through Luffield and Woodcote, Espargaro continues to lead and he'll pick up his second win of 2012. Tom Luthi is eighth with Bradley Smith and Claudio Corti ahead.
Luthi can still pick up a couple of points. But, he's had a fraught race today. There's a lap and a half left. Espargaro runs through Maggots/Becketts once more. Scott Redding can't quite pass Marc Marques. Redding's best corner on the track is Village. Meanwhile, Luthi sets a new fastest lap. Redding passes Marques. Can he gap Marques? Pol Espargaro has the race in the bag. But, it'll be a battle for second. Into Woodcote, there's half a lap left. Corti passes Smith. Marques wants it into the corner. Marques is side-0by-side with Redding on the sitrahgt and holds off Redding. Marques nearly crashes. Redding comes back through Club. Redding takes second.
Pol Espargaro wins it!
#40 Pol Espargaro ESP Kalex
The next race will be the Tourist Trophy at Assen in Holland in two weeks, which actually starts a string of three consecutive races in three weeks for the MotoGP bikes in all classes.
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